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polo

1 American  
[poh-loh] / ˈpoʊ loʊ /

noun

  1. a game played on horseback between two teams, each of four players, the object being to score points by driving a wooden ball into the opponents' goal using a long-handled mallet.

  2. any game broadly resembling this, especially water polo.

  3. polo shirt.

Polo 2 American  
[poh-loh] / ˈpoʊ loʊ /

noun

  1. Marco c1254–1324, Venetian traveler.

polo 1 British  
/ ˈpəʊləʊ /

noun

  1. a game similar to hockey played on horseback using long-handled mallets ( polo sticks ) and a wooden ball

  2. any of several similar games, such as one played on bicycles

  3. short for water polo

  4. Also called: polo neck. 

    1. a collar on a garment, worn rolled over to fit closely round the neck

    2. a garment, esp a sweater, with such a collar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Polo 2 British  
/ ˈpəʊləʊ /

noun

  1. Marco (ˈmɑːkəʊ). 1254–1324, Venetian merchant, famous for his account of his travels in Asia. After travelling overland to China (1271–75), he spent 17 years serving Kublai Khan before returning to Venice by sea (1292–95)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • poloist noun

Etymology

Origin of polo

1835–45; < Balti (Tibetan language of Kashmir): ball

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While Ahmadinejad was dressed in “vintage, early 1980s” clothes, Larijani came from “the opposite end of the sartorial spectrum: suave, wearing a carefully pressed Ralph Lauren polo shirt,” Straw wrote in his memoir.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

His support for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games went beyond the water polo teams.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Another secondary school in Derbyshire, Alvaston Moor Academy, is now ditching blazers and ties in favour of a black all-weather jacket and polo shirt from September.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026

Dane spent his high school years as a competitive swimmer and water polo player.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026

I could tell because he had tucked his green polo shirt into his pants.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

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.