POOL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pool mean? 

• POOL (noun)
  The noun POOL has 9 senses:

1. an excavation that is (usually) filled with water

2. a small lake

3. an organization of people or resources that can be shared

4. an association of companies for some definite purpose

5. any communal combination of funds

6. a small body of standing water (rainwater) or other liquid

7. the combined stakes of the betters

8. something resembling a pool of liquid

9. any of various games played on a pool table having 6 pockets

  Familiarity information: POOL used as a noun is familiar.

• POOL (verb)
  The verb POOL has 2 senses:

1. combine into a common fund

2. join or form a pool of people

  Familiarity information: POOL used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POOL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An excavation that is (usually) filled with water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

excavation (a hole in the ground made by excavating)

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

cistern (an artificial reservoir for storing liquids; especially an underground tank for storing rainwater)

natatorium; swimming bath; swimming pool (pool that provides a facility for swimming)

wading pool (a shallow pool for children)

water jump (a pool or stream in a steeplechase or similar contest)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small lake

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

pond; pool

Context example:

the pond was too small for sailing

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

lake (a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land)

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

fishpond (a freshwater pond with fish)

horsepond (a pond for watering horses)

mere (a small pond of standing water)

millpond (a pond formed by damming a stream to provide a head of water to turn a mill wheel)

swimming hole (a small body of water (usually in a creek) that is deep enough to use for swimming)

water hole (a natural hole or hollow containing water)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An organization of people or resources that can be shared

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

when he was first hired he was assigned to the pool

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

organisation; organization (a group of people who work together)

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

typing pool (a group of typists who can work for different persons)

Derivation:

pool (join or form a pool of people)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An association of companies for some definite purpose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

consortium; pool; syndicate

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

association (a formal organization of people or groups of people)

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

cartel; combine; corporate trust; trust (a consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition by controlling the production and distribution of a product or service)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Any communal combination of funds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Context example:

everyone contributed to the pool

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

reserve account; reserve fund (funds taken out of earnings to provide for anticipated future payments)

Meronyms (parts of "pool"):

bet; stake; stakes; wager (the money risked on a gamble)

Derivation:

pool (combine into a common fund)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A small body of standing water (rainwater) or other liquid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

pool; puddle

Context example:

the body lay in a pool of blood

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

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

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

billabong (a stagnant pool of water in the bed of a stream that flows intermittently)

mud puddle (a puddle of mud)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The combined stakes of the betters

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

kitty; pool

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

bet; stake; stakes; wager (the money risked on a gamble)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Something resembling a pool of liquid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

pool; puddle

Context example:

his chair sat in a puddle of books and magazines

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

place; spot; topographic point (a point located with respect to surface features of some region)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Any of various games played on a pool table having 6 pockets

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

pocket billiards; pool

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

table game (a game that is played on a table)

Meronyms (parts of "pool"):

break (the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool)

cannon; carom (a shot in billiards in which the cue ball contacts one object ball and then the other)

masse; masse shot (a shot in billiards made by hitting the cue ball with the cue held nearly vertically; the cue ball spins around another ball before hitting the object ball)

miscue (a faulty shot in billiards; the cue tip slips off the cue ball)

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

snooker (a form of pool played with 15 red balls and six balls of other colors and a cue ball)

• POOL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pool    ... he / she / it pools   
Past simple: pooled   
Past participle: pooled   
-ing form: pooling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Combine into a common fund

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

We pooled resources

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

share (use jointly or in common)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

pool (any communal combination of funds)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Join or form a pool of people

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

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

aggroup; group (form a group or group together)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

pool (an organization of people or resources that can be shared)

 Context examples 

When Quincey saw the attitude and state of the patient, and noted the horrible pool on the floor, he said softly:—"My God! what has happened to him? Poor, poor devil!"

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He baled wildly at first, splashing himself and flinging the water so short a distance that it ran back into the pool.

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

A process that generates and maintains a single pool of cells prepared from a selected cell clone under specific conditions.

(Cell Bank Maintenance, NCI Thesaurus)

An infiltrating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, characterized by the presence of malignant cells floating in pools of mucin.

(Colloid Carcinoma of the Pancreas, NCI Thesaurus)

The extracellular mucin pools occupy more than 50% of the malignant lesion.

(Colorectal Mucinous Adenocarcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

An invasive adenocarcinoma of the colon characterized by the presence of pools of extracellular mucin.

(Colon Mucinous Adenocarcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Methylation of CBP by CARM1 blocks CBP from acting as a coactivator for CREB and redirects the limited CBP pool in the cell to be available for steroid hormone receptors.

(CARM1 Transcription Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Some satellite cells mature to replace the damaged muscle tissue, while others serve to replenish the pool of cells available for future repair.

(Controlling Muscle Repair, NIH)

The researchers pooled data from 12 studies that together followed a total of 1.44 million people over time.

(Physical activity associated with lower risk of many cancers, NIH)

Computational methods allowed the researchers to detect patterns between the genes expressed in the retina and a pool of more than 9 million previously identified genetic variants.

(New study about genes linked to age-related macular degeneration, National Institutes of Health)