a long, cylindrical, often slender piece of wood, metal, etc..
a telephone pole; a fishing pole.
Northeastern U.S. a long, tapering piece of wood or other material that extends from the front axle of a vehicle between the animals drawing it.
Nautical.
a light spar.
that part of a mast between the uppermost standing rigging and the truck.
the lane of a racetrack nearest to the infield; the inside lane.
a unit of length equal to 16½ feet (5 meters); a rod.
a square rod, 30¼ square yards (25.3 square meters).
to furnish with poles.
to push, strike, or propel with a pole.
to pole a raft.
Baseball. to make (an extra-base hit) by batting the ball hard and far.
He poled a triple to deep right-center.
Metallurgy. to stir (molten metal, as copper, tin, or zinc) with poles of green wood so as to produce carbon, which reacts with the oxygen present to effect deoxidation.
each of the extremities of the axis of the earth or of any spherical body.
Astronomy. celestial pole.
one of two opposite or contrasted principles or tendencies.
His behavior ranges between the poles of restraint and abandon.
a point of concentration of interest, attention, etc..
The beautiful actress was the pole of everyone's curiosity.
Electricity, Magnetism. either of the two regions or parts of an electric battery, magnet, or the like, that exhibits electrical or magnetic polarity.
Cell Biology.
either end of an ideal axis in a nucleus, cell, or ovum, about which parts are more or less symmetrically arranged.
either end of a spindle-shaped figure formed in a cell during mitosis.
the place at which a cell extension or process begins, as a nerve cell axon or a flagellum.
Mathematics.
a singular point at which a given function of a complex variable can be expanded in a Laurent series beginning with a specified finite, negative power of the variable.
Crystallography. a line perpendicular to a crystal face and passing through the crystal center.
either of the two antipodal points where the earth's axis of rotation meets the earth's surface See also North Pole South Pole
astronomy short for celestial pole
physics
either of the two regions at the extremities of a magnet to which the lines of force converge or from which they diverge
either of two points or regions in a piece of material, system, etc, at which there are opposite electric charges, as at the two terminals of a battery
maths an isolated singularity of an analytical function
biology
either end of the axis of a cell, spore, ovum, or similar body
either end of the spindle formed during the metaphase of mitosis and meiosis
physiol the point on a neuron from which the axon or dendrites project from the cell body
either of two mutually exclusive or opposite actions, opinions, etc
geometry the origin in a system of polar or spherical coordinates
any fixed point of reference
having widely divergent opinions, tastes, etc
throughout the entire world
a long slender usually round piece of wood, metal, or other material
the piece of timber on each side of which a pair of carriage horses are hitched
another name for rod
horse racing
the inside lane of a racecourse
( as modifier )
the pole position
one of a number of markers placed at intervals of one sixteenth of a mile along the side of a racecourse
nautical
any light spar
the part of a mast between the head and the attachment of the uppermost shrouds
nautical (of a sailing vessel) with no sails set
informal
slightly mad
mistaken; on the wrong track
(tr) to strike or push with a pole
(tr)
to set out (an area of land or garden) with poles
to support (a crop, such as hops or beans) on poles
(tr) to deoxidize (a molten metal, esp copper) by stirring it with green wood
to punt (a boat)
Mathematics
Either of the points at which an axis that passes through the center of a sphere intersects the surface of the sphere.
The fixed point used as a reference in a system of polar coordinates. It corresponds to the origin in the Cartesian coordinate system.
Geography
Geography Either of the points at which the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the Earth's surface; the North Pole or South Pole.
Either of the two similar points on another planet.
Physics A magnetic pole.
Electricity Either of two oppositely charged terminals, such as the two electrodes of an electrolytic cell or the electric terminals of a battery.
Biology
Either of the two points at the extremities of the axis of an organ or body.
Either end of the spindle formed in a cell during mitosis.
First recorded before 1050; Middle English pol(e), polle, Old English pāl, from Latin pālus “wooden post, stake”; see pale 2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pol(e), polus, from Latin polus, from Greek pólos “pivot, axis, pole”
A pole is a rounded stick or rod, usually made of wood, plastic, or metal. You need a pole for hanging a flag, catching fish, or setting up a tent. There are many kinds of poles, from the poles skiers use to balance and push themselves forward to the long, flexible pole a pole vaulter uses to help her jump over a high bar. When someone mentions the North or South Pole, they mean the points on either side of the Earth that mark the ends of its axis of rotation. This kind of pole comes from the Latin polus, "end of an axis" or "the heavens."
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India has set a target to put people on the moon by around 2040, following the successful landing of its Chandrayaan-3 mission near the lunar south pole in 2023.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
“The last thing we need is to have a pole fall onto someone or something if there are high winds,” the bureau’s Clinton Tsurui wrote in the June 4, 2025, email.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Skilled workers electrified rural America one pole at a time.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
The Mercedes driver secured his first F1 Grand Slam - winning from pole position, leading every lap of the grand prix and setting the fastest lap - to extend his title advantage to 66 points.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
I’d never in my life laid eyes on a real fishing pole, but I’d learned from Nan that, when it came to strangers, less truth meant less trouble.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
