# pool

Pronunciation: say "POOL" US /pul/, UK /puːl/

## Noun

1. Short for swimming pool: a large tank or basin filled with water for swimming. — Ellipsis of swimming pool.
   - Simple: Short for swimming pool: a large area of water made for swimming.
   - _She swims laps in the pool every morning before work._
   - _The hotel pool was crowded by noon._
2. A small, fairly deep body of water, usually fresh, such as one fed by a spring, formed in a stream or river, held as a reservoir, or left among rocks by the tide.
   - Simple: A small, deep area of water, usually fresh, fed by a spring or stream, or left in rocks by the sea.
   - _A clear pool formed where the stream slowed between the rocks._
   - _The deer drank from a spring-fed pool at the edge of the forest._
3. A small amount of water or other liquid that has collected on the ground or another surface, such as a puddle or a spill.
   - Simple: A small amount of water or other liquid lying on the ground or on another surface.
   - _Rain left a muddy pool in the middle of the path._
   - _A pool of oil spread across the garage floor under the old truck._
4. Any of several games played with a cue and numbered balls on a table with six pockets, such as eight-ball or nine-ball; originally a billiards game played for a shared stake.
   - Simple: A game played on a table with six holes, where players use a long stick to hit balls into the holes.
   - _We played pool at the bar until midnight._
   - _She racked the balls for another frame of pool._
5. A group of people, or a supply of things such as money, equipment, or information, that is available to be drawn on, chosen from, or shared.
   - Simple: A group of people or a supply of things that is available for others to use or choose from.
   - _The company drew from a large pool of skilled workers._
   - _Jurors are chosen from a pool of local residents._
8. A group of teams or competitors in a tournament who compete only against each other during one stage, such as a group stage or a fencing round.
   - Simple: A small group of teams or players in a competition who play against each other in one stage.
   - _New Zealand topped their pool with four straight wins._
   - _The draw placed the host nation in a pool alongside two former champions._
9. An arrangement in which several people or businesses combine their money, property, or earnings for a shared purpose, such as betting, investing, controlling prices, or dividing profits; also, the total amount put in.
   - Simple: An arrangement where several people or companies put their money together to bet, invest, or share profits.
   - _A group of investors formed a pool to finance the mining operation._
   - _Each member of the betting pool contributed fifty dollars before the race._
10. The combined stake that players contribute to in a card or billiards game, claimed by the winner; also the container holding those stakes.
   - Simple: The total amount of money that players bet on a game, which the winner takes.
   - _The winner of the hand swept the entire pool off the table._
   - _Each player added five dollars to the pool before the game began._
11. A small, contained area of glowing light surrounded by darkness.
   - Simple: A small area lit up by light, with darkness around it.
   - _The streetlamp cast a single pool of light onto the wet sidewalk._
   - _Pools of golden light dotted the gallery floor between the exhibits._

## Verb

6. To combine money, resources, or information with others for shared use or a common purpose.
   - Simple: To put money or things together with others into one shared fund.
   - _Several families pool their resources to rent the cabin together._
   - _The two firms pooled their data to train a shared model._
7. Of a liquid, to gather and collect into a pool.
   - Simple: To collect in one spot and form a small body of liquid.
   - _Water tends to pool wherever the ground dips._
   - _Oil pooled beneath the leaking engine overnight._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A rifle-shooting contest in which each competitor pays a set sum for every shot, with the net proceeds divided among the winners.
- (noun) The set of players taking part together in a card game such as quadrille.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 7, 11** — From Middle English pool, from Old English pōl ("pool"), from Proto-Germanic *pōlaz ("pool, pond"), and perhaps ultimately from an older root *bōlos ("bog, marsh"), which may be a borrowing from a pre-Indo-European language. It is related to Dutch poel, German Pfuhl ("quagmire"), and Swedish pöl ("puddle").
**Meanings 4–6, 8–10** — From French poule ("collective stakes in a game"). The OED suggests it may be a transferred use of poule ("hen"), anecdotally traced to an old French betting game called 'jeu de poule', in which poule came to mean the combined money pot won by the winner.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pool (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).