POLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Pole mean? 

• POLE (noun)
  The noun POLE has 10 senses:

1. a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic

2. a native or inhabitant of Poland

3. one of two divergent or mutually exclusive opinions

4. a linear measure of 16.5 feet

5. a square rod of land

6. one of two points of intersection of the Earth's axis and the celestial sphere

7. one of two antipodal points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the Earth's surface

8. a contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves

9. a long fiberglass sports implement used for pole vaulting

10. one of the two ends of a magnet where the magnetism seems to be concentrated

  Familiarity information: POLE used as a noun is familiar.

• POLE (verb)
  The verb POLE has 3 senses:

1. propel with a pole

2. support on poles

3. deoxidize molten metals by stirring them with a wooden pole

  Familiarity information: POLE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

rod (a long thin implement made of metal or wood)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pole"):

boom; microphone boom (a pole carrying an overhead microphone projected over a film or tv set)

caber (a heavy wooden pole (such as the trunk of a young fir) that is tossed as a test of strength (in the Highlands of northern Scotland))

clothes tree; coat stand; coat tree (an upright pole with pegs or hooks on which to hang clothing)

mast (any sturdy upright pole)

ski pole (a pole with metal points used as an aid in skiing)

spar (a stout rounded pole of wood or metal used to support rigging)

stilt (one of two stout poles with foot rests in the middle; used for walking high above the ground)

barge pole (a long pole used to propel or guide a barge)

Derivation:

pole (deoxidize molten metals by stirring them with a wooden pole)

pole (support on poles)

pole (propel with a pole)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A native or inhabitant of Poland

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Pole" is a kind of...):

European (a native or inhabitant of Europe)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Pole"):

polack (a person of Polish descent)

Holonyms ("Pole" is a member of...):

Poland; Polska; Republic of Poland (a republic in central Europe; the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939 started World War II)

Sense 3

Meaning:

One of two divergent or mutually exclusive opinions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

they are poles apart

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

opinion; persuasion; sentiment; thought; view (a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty)

Derivation:

polar (characterized by opposite extremes; completely opposed)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A linear measure of 16.5 feet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

perch; pole; rod

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

linear measure; linear unit (a unit of measurement of length)

Meronyms (parts of "pole"):

pace; yard (a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Holonyms ("pole" is a part of...):

furlong (a unit of length equal to 220 yards)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A square rod of land

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

perch; pole; rod

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

area unit; square measure (a system of units used to measure areas)

Sense 6

Meaning:

One of two points of intersection of the Earth's axis and the celestial sphere

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

celestial pole; pole

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

celestial point (a point in the heavens (on the celestial sphere))

Instance hyponyms:

north celestial pole (the celestial pole above the northern hemisphere; near Polaris)

south celestial pole (the celestial pole above the southern hemisphere)

Sense 7

Meaning:

One of two antipodal points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the Earth's surface

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

geographic point; geographical point (a point on the surface of the Earth)

Instance hyponyms:

North Pole (the northernmost point of the Earth's axis)

South Pole (the southernmost point of the Earth's axis)

Derivation:

polar (of or existing at or near a geographical pole or within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles)

polar (located at or near or coming from the earth's poles)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

pole; terminal

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

contact; tangency ((electronics) a junction where things (as two electrical conductors) touch or are in physical contact)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pole"):

anode (the negatively charged terminal of a voltaic cell or storage battery that supplies current)

positive pole (the terminal of a battery that is connected to the positive plate)

negative pole (the terminal of a battery that is connected to the negative plate)

Holonyms ("pole" is a part of...):

electrical device (a device that produces or is powered by electricity)

battery; electric battery (a device that produces electricity; may have several primary or secondary cells arranged in parallel or series)

Derivation:

polar (having a pair of equal and opposite charges)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A long fiberglass sports implement used for pole vaulting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

sports implement (an implement used in a sport)

Sense 10

Meaning:

One of the two ends of a magnet where the magnetism seems to be concentrated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

magnetic pole; pole

Hypernyms ("pole" is a kind of...):

end; terminal (either extremity of something that has length)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pole"):

negative magnetic pole; negative pole; south-seeking pole (the pole of a magnet that points toward the south when the magnet is suspended freely)

north-seeking pole; positive magnetic pole; positive pole (the pole of a magnet that points toward the north when the magnet is suspended freely)

Holonyms ("pole" is a part of...):

magnet ((physics) a device that attracts iron and produces a magnetic field)

• POLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pole    ... he / she / it poles   
Past simple: poled   
Past participle: poled   
-ing form: poling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Propel with a pole

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

pole; punt

Context example:

We went punting in Cambridge

Hypernyms (to "pole" is one way to...):

impel; propel (cause to move forward with force)

"Pole" entails doing...:

force; push (move with force)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pole (a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Support on poles

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

pole climbing plants like beans

Hypernyms (to "pole" is one way to...):

hold; hold up; support; sustain (be the physical support of; carry the weight of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

pole (a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Deoxidize molten metals by stirring them with a wooden pole

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "pole" is one way to...):

deoxidise; deoxidize; reduce (to remove oxygen from a compound, or cause to react with hydrogen or form a hydride, or to undergo an increase in the number of electrons)

Domain category:

metallurgy (the science and technology of metals)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pole (a long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic)

 Context examples 

Each planet spins on an axis, also known as the pole.

(A Closer Look at Mercury’s Spin and Gravity Reveals the Planet’s Inner Solid Core, NASA)

Previous observations of the poles of Mercury with Earth-based radar revealed a signature characteristic of thick, pure ice deposits.

(The Moon and Mercury May Have Thick Ice Deposits, NASA)

Throw your weight against the gee-pole, right and left, and break it out.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

This species is motile with a flagellum at each pole, non-spore forming, oxidase positive, and hydrolyzes hippurate.

(Campylobacter jejuni, NCI Thesaurus)

But surely there is no use for a Scarecrow stuck on a pole in the middle of a river.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"Wasn't necessary. I was left at the pole."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Clinging to the gee-pole with his right band and with his left rubbing cheeks and nose, he stumbled over the rope as the dogs swung on a bend.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

But, dear one, she said, with such spiritual intensity that her eyes were like pole stars, it is I who wish it; and it is not for myself.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

They were part of a British expedition lead by Colonel John Hunt sent specifically to reach what was regarded at the time as the 'third pole.'

(Everest, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The studies indicate an average depth for the ice shell of 11 to 14 miles (18 to 22 kilometers), with a thickness of less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) at the south pole.

(Cassini Sees Heat Below the Icy Surface of Enceladus, NASA)