Pole

/pəʊl/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.
  • Grammar: pole is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: rod, acme, advance, advance.
  • Useful contrasts: equator, equators, foreigner.
  • Usage evidence: The engineer climbed the telephone pole.

How to use "pole"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pole" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pole" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pole" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pole" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "pole" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "rod" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "pole", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.

    "For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand."

  2. 2
    Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object.
  3. 3
    A person from Poland or of Polish descent.
  4. 4
    a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic wordnet
  5. 5
    A construction by which an animal is harnessed to a carriage.
Show 24 more definitions
  1. 6
    A point of magnetic focus, especially each of the two opposing such points of a magnet (designated north and south).
  2. 7
    one of the two ends of a magnet where the magnetism seems to be concentrated wordnet
  3. 8
    A type of basic fishing rod.
  4. 9
    Any of a small set of extremes; especially, either of two extremes that are possible or available. broadly, figuratively

    "In discussing alternatives to the polar extremes, Professor Nguyen mentioned two poles of a filthy floor versus a sterile surgical site."

  5. 10
    a long fiberglass sports implement used for pole vaulting wordnet
  6. 11
    A long sports implement used for pole-vaulting; now made of glassfiber or carbon fiber, formerly also metal, bamboo and wood have been used.
  7. 12
    A fixed point relative to other points or lines.
  8. 13
    a contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves wordnet
  9. 14
    A telescope used to identify birds, aeroplanes or wildlife. slang
  10. 15
    A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves.
  11. 16
    one of two divergent or mutually exclusive opinions wordnet
  12. 17
    A unit of length, equal to a rod (¹⁄₄ chain or 5+¹⁄₂ yards). historical
  13. 18
    For a meromorphic function f(z), any point a for which f(z)→∞ as z→a.

    "The function f(z)#61;#92;frac#123;1#125;#123;z-3#125; has a single pole at z#61;3."

  14. 19
    one of two antipodal points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the Earth's surface wordnet
  15. 20
    A pole position.
  16. 21
    The firmament; the sky. obsolete

    "And the slope sun his upward beam / Shoots against the dusky pole,"

  17. 22
    one of two points of intersection of the Earth's axis and the celestial sphere wordnet
  18. 23
    A rifle. US, slang
  19. 24
    Either of the states that characterize a bipolar disorder.
  20. 25
    a native or inhabitant of Poland wordnet
  21. 26
    A penis. slang, vulgar
  22. 27
    a square rod of land wordnet
  23. 28
    A wicket, especially in the context of the number of wickets taken by a particular bowler. slang

    "Only three cricketers have taken all 10 poles in a Test innings."

  24. 29
    a linear measure of 16.5 feet wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To propel by pushing with poles, to push with a pole.

    "Huck Finn poled that raft southward down the Mississippi because going northward against the current was too much work."

  2. 2
    To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles. transitive
  3. 3
    deoxidize molten metals by stirring them with a wooden pole wordnet
  4. 4
    To identify something quite precisely using a telescope.

    "He poled off the serial of the Gulfstream to confirm its identity."

  5. 5
    support on poles wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    To furnish with poles for support. transitive

    "to pole beans or hops"

  2. 7
    propel with a pole wordnet
  3. 8
    To convey on poles. transitive

    "to pole hay into a barn"

  4. 9
    To stir, as molten glass, with a pole. transitive
  5. 10
    To strike (the ball) very hard. transitive

    "Long had poled the ball into the lower deck in right center."

  6. 11
    To treat (copper) by blowing natural gas or other reducing agent through the molten oxide, burning off the oxygen. transitive

    "to pole copper"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
rodacmeadvanceadvanceall overantenna tower

Example

"The engineer climbed the telephone pole."

Common questions

What does "pole" mean?

Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.

What is a synonym for "pole"?

Common synonyms include: rod, acme, advance, advance, all over, antenna tower.

How do you use "pole" in a sentence?

The engineer climbed the telephone pole.

How do you pronounce "pole"?

Pronounced /pəʊl/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English pole, pal, from Old English pāl (“a pole, stake, post; a kind of hoe or spade”), from Proto-West Germanic *pāl (“pole”), from Latin pālus (“stake, pale, prop, stay”), perhaps from Old Latin *paxlos, from Proto-Italic *pākslos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- (“to nail, fasten”). Doublet of peel, pale, and palus. Cognates Cognate with Scots pale, paill (“stake, pale”), North Frisian pul, pil (“stake, pale”), Saterland Frisian Pool (“pole”), West Frisian poal (“pole”), Dutch paal (“pole”), German Pfahl (“pile, stake, post, pole”), Danish pæl (“pole”), Swedish påle (“pole”), Icelandic páll (“hoe, spade, pale”), Old English fæc (“space of time, while, division, interval; lustrum”).

Etymology 2

From Middle French pole, pôle, from Latin polus, from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos, “axis of rotation”).

Etymology 3

From German Pole.

More for "pole"

Synonyms

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