pole
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A construction by which an animal is harnessed to a carriage.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pohlIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpoʊl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A construction by which an animal is harnessed to a carriage.
Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.
fishing
A type of basic fishing rod.
A long fiberglass sports implement used for pole vaulting
One of two points of intersection of the Earth's axis and the celestial sphere
One of two antipodal points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the Earth's surface
verb
To identify something quite precisely using a telescope.
Deoxidize molten metals by stirring them with a wooden pole
transitive
To induce piezoelectricity in (a substance) by aligning the dipoles.
To propel by pushing with poles, to push with a pole.
transitive
To furnish with poles for support.
transitive
To convey on poles.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A construction by which an animal is harnessed to a carriage.
Used this way, pole is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use pole
- “Huck Finn poled that raft southward down the Mississippi because going northward against the current was too much work.”verb
- “To pole beans or hops.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A competition that involves jumping over a high crossbar with the aid of a long pole.
An athlete who jumps over a high crossbar with the aid of a long pole.
A competition that involves jumping over a high crossbar with the aid of a long pole.
The horse having a starting position next to the inside rail in a harness race.
A competition that involves jumping over a high crossbar with the aid of a long pole.
A climbing bean plant that will climb a wall or tree or trellis.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A dipole with opposing magnetic poles.
A hypothetical particle with a single magnetic pole instead of the usual two.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to identify something quite precisely using a telescope
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.