back to back election

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "back to back election" is not entirely correct; it should be "back-to-back elections" to be grammatically accurate.
You can use it to describe two elections that occur consecutively without a significant gap in between. Example: "The country faced back-to-back elections this year, which put a strain on the electoral process."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

It's swung three ways since 1997, including back to back election wins for health campaigner Richard Taylor.

BBC

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

These two back-to-back election cycles represent the most emphatic examples of a point that macroeconomic forecasting models are absolutely agreed upon: it's recent economic performance that matters.

The New York Times

His back-to-back election victories represent the triumph of those pious, provincial Turks whom the secularists were taught to despise – and who have now supplanted them at the top of the heap.

The Guardian - Books

As the Democratic National Committee gathered for its summer meeting at Union Station in St . Louis anxiety marked a stark change for a party that had reveled in back-to-back election cycles that produced control of Congress and the White House.

The New York Times

Consider the Rick Perry paradox: in a G.O.P. field notably bereft of experience in elected office, he has won nine back-to-back elections and spent the last decade as governor of America's second-most-populous state.

The New York Times

Mr. Jackson, 47, was first elected in 1995 and has won back-to-back elections with ease, including a primary in March, when he soundly defeated former Representative Debbie Halvorson.

The New York Times

It was the first time since votes in the early 1900s that centre-right parties won back-to-back elections.

The Guardian

Frank Luntz, the communications strategist, gave the Republicans a slideshow describing how Republicans have just endured their worst back-to-back elections since 1930 and 1932.

The New York Times

And back-to-back elections — for Parliament in December and president in March — neither of which offers an alternative to the current government, will strain the state's coffers and voters' patience.

The New York Times

Or, more pragmatically, was he trying to rebalance rival factions inside the Kremlin's inner sanctum while appointing a faithful bureaucrat to manage the government as it enters back-to-back elections?

The New York Times

Support from disillusioned Pasok voters underpinned Syriza's sudden rise from left-wing outlier into a serious contender for power during Greece's two back-to-back elections in 2012.But that was before the intervention of George Papandreou, the prime minister who signed up to the international bail-out in 2010 and a former Pasok leader (and son of its founder).

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use the hyphenated form "back-to-back elections" for grammatical correctness. This clarifies that "back-to-back" acts as a compound adjective describing the elections.

Common error

Omitting the hyphens in "back-to-back" can lead to misinterpretation or a less professional tone. Always include the hyphens when using it as a compound adjective.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "back to back election" functions as a descriptive element, attempting to modify the noun "election". However, it requires hyphenation to function correctly as a compound adjective. According to Ludwig AI, the phrase is not entirely correct and should be "back-to-back elections".

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Wiki

15%

Science

10%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "back to back election" aims to describe consecutive elections, it's grammatically more accurate to use "back-to-back elections", including hyphens to form a compound adjective. Ludwig AI suggests that without hyphens the phrase is not correct, but the presence of the exact phrase (without hyphens) in news articles proves it's still commonly used, but best practice is to add the hyphens. For more formal contexts, alternatives like "consecutive elections" or "successive elections" may be preferable. Remember to use the hyphenated form in your writing to ensure clarity and grammatical correctness.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

back-to-back elections

Adds hyphens to correct the grammatical structure, making it a compound adjective.

consecutive elections

Replaces the phrase with a more grammatically standard term indicating elections happening in sequence.

successive elections

Similar to "consecutive elections", this term emphasizes the sequential nature of the elections.

sequential elections

Focuses on the order of the elections, highlighting that they follow one another.

immediately following elections

Emphasizes the close proximity in time between the elections.

one after another elections

A more descriptive phrase emphasizing the lack of gap between the elections.

two elections in a row

Simplifies the concept to the occurrence of two elections without interruption.

paired elections

Indicates that elections are linked by their occurrence in close succession.

adjacent elections

Highlights the closeness of the elections in terms of time.

recurring elections

Suggests that the elections happen repeatedly in a close time frame.

FAQs

Is "back to back election" grammatically correct?

No, the grammatically correct form is "back-to-back elections". The hyphens are necessary to indicate that "back-to-back" is functioning as a compound adjective.

What's a more formal way to say "back to back election"?

More formal alternatives include "consecutive elections" or "successive elections".

How can I use "back-to-back elections" in a sentence?

Example: "The country faced "back-to-back elections" this year, which put a strain on the electoral process."

What's the difference between "back to back election" and "back-to-back elections"?

The hyphenated version, "back-to-back elections", is grammatically correct. The non-hyphenated version is generally considered an error in formal writing.