pole

noun · Pole noun · verb

SayPOHL/poʊl/UK/pəʊl/

Pluralpoles, Poles

23 meanings of pole

Practice

1
long sticknouncountable
A long, thin stick or bar used to hold things up, or for jumping, fishing, or other jobs.
Dad tied the tomato plants to a wooden pole.
The tent stands on four metal poles.
Similarpost, rod, staff
Note
2
earth's axisnouncountable
One of the two points the earth spins around, at its top and bottom. Other spinning things have them too.
Explorers walked for weeks to reach the pole.
It is very cold at both poles all year.
UsageWrite the North Pole with capital letters.
Note
3
from Polandnoun · Polecountable
Someone who comes from Poland or whose family came from Poland.
Our new neighbor is a Pole who moved here from Kraków.
Many Poles came to Chicago to work in the factories.
UsageWrite Pole with a capital. The language is Polish.
4
front of gridnouncountable
In car racing, the best starting place, at the very front.
She drove the fastest lap and took pole for Sunday's race.
He has started from pole three times this year.
UsageSay take pole or start from pole.
5
nouncountable
One of the two ends of a magnet, called north and south, where its pull is strongest.
The north pole of one magnet pulls on the south pole of the other.
Opposite poles attract, and like poles push apart.
6
opposite extremenounfigurativelycountable
One of two opposite extremes, as in the two poles of an argument.
My two brothers are at opposite poles: one loves noise and the other loves quiet.
Each pole of the debate had loud supporters, but most people stood in the middle.
UsagePoles apart means very different.
Similarextreme, end
7
battery contactnouncountable
One of the points on a battery or other device where electricity goes in or out.
Connect the red wire to the positive pole of the battery.
The battery's poles were covered in a white crust.
Similarterminal, electrode
Note

Less common meanings

8
push a boatverbtransitive or intransitive
To push a boat or raft along with a long pole.
We had to pole the boat through the shallow water.
He poled the raft across the pond to the little island.
Similarpunt, push, propel
9
penisnounslangvulgarcountable
A penis, the male sex organ.
The comedian made a crude joke about his pole.
He bragged to his friends about the size of his pole.
Similarpenis
10
hit hardverbtransitive
In baseball, to hit the ball very hard.
She poled the ball over the fence for a home run.
He can pole the ball farther than anyone on the team.
Similarbelt, smash, crush, blast, drive
Note
11
verbtransitive
To give plants or other things poles that hold them up, for example climbing beans.
Every spring we pole the runner beans along the back fence.
The farmer poled his young hop plants in April.
Similarstake
12
verbtransitive
To carry something by putting it on long poles.
13
length unitnounhistoricalcountable
An old unit for measuring length, equal to 5½ yards.
The old deed says the field is forty poles long.
The surveyor marked off one pole at a time along the boundary.
Similarrod, perch
Note
14
nounobsolete
The sky, or the heavens above us.
And the slope sun his upward beam / Shoots against the dusky pole,
1634, [John Milton], A Maske Presented at Ludlow CastleHere, pole means the sky, thought of as a great dome overhead.
Note
15
nouncountableastronomy
One of two points in the sky that a spinning planet points at, which the stars seem to circle.
In his night photo, the stars made bright circles around the pole.
From the equator, both poles of the sky sit right on the horizon.
Note
16
noun
Either end of a round body part, cell, egg or similar thing, like the top or bottom of a kidney.
17
nounslangUS
A rifle, a kind of long gun.
18
noun
In geometry, a fixed point used as a reference for other points or lines.
19
noun
In math, a point where the value of a function becomes endlessly large.
20
verb
To treat a material so that it gives off electricity when pressed, by lining up tiny charges inside it.
21
verb
To remove oxygen from melted metal using wood or gas, or to stir melted glass with a pole.
22
nounslang
A telescope people use to tell which bird, plane or wild animal they are looking at.
23
verb
To use a telescope to see exactly what something is, like the number on a plane.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of pole apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 4, 8–13

From Old English pāl, an early Germanic borrowing of Latin pālus, meaning "stake".

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Pole derives from Old English pāl. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin borrowing occurred at an early Germanic stage, before Old English. en.wiktionary.org
Latin pālus means “stake”. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 2, 5–7, 14–15

From a Greek word for the axis that something turns around.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Pole derives ultimately from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos), meaning an axis of rotation. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 3

Taken from the German word for a Polish person.

Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

English Pole was taken from German. en.wiktionary.org
German Pole denotes a Polish person. de.wiktionary.org