petition
n. countablen. a formal document that many people sign to ask a government or organization to change something. You use it when you want to show that a large group of people supports an idea.
n. a formal written request, typically signed by many people, appealing to an authority with respect to a particular cause. In legal contexts, it refers to a formal application made to a court in writing that requests a specific judicial action.
They started a petition to save the local park.
The neighborhood association submitted a petition with five hundred signatures to protest the new highway construction.
After the legislative body ignored their initial concerns, the activists organized a nationwide petition to force a public referendum on the environmental protection bill.
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French peticiun, from stem of Latin petitio, petitionem (“a request, solicitation”), from petere (“to require, seek, go forward”).
Often takes the preposition 'for' (a petition for change) or 'against' (a petition against the tax).