flagpole

[ flag-pohl ]

noun

1. a staff or pole on which a flag is or can be displayed.

flagpole

/ ˈflæɡˌstɑːf; ˈflæɡˌpəʊl /

noun

1. a pole or staff on which a flag is hoisted and displayed
2. run something up the flagpole
   run something up the flagpole to pursue a tentative course of action in order to gauge the reaction it receives

Word History and Origins

Origin of flagpole¹

First recorded in 1880–85; flag ¹ + pole ¹

Example Sentences

I always thought of trees like flagpoles, vertical, not horizontal and beneath us, holding us up.

From Washington Post

Other subjects of discussion were the proper length and brand of zip ties for detaining members of Congress and how to use a flagpole and other objects to attack police officers.

From Washington Post

Videos show the group pummeling the wood-and-glass doors with a helmet, feet and a flagpole.

From Washington Post

One group of officers was left stranded, separated from their riot gear, which sat unused on a parked bus near the Capitol while unprotected officers endured beatings with metal pipes and flagpoles.

From ProPublica

Once inside, they used pipes, flagpoles and other weapons to shatter windows and break furniture.

From Washington Post

She described the way she and Igor watched the Donetsk flag go up and down the flagpole in front of their window.

From The Daily Beast

Then the huddles break, and the 200 or so children join hands in a ring around the flagpole.

From The Daily Beast

The knots were so plentiful that the thread stood up like a gnarled flagpole.

From The Daily Beast

Mrs. Noah turned pale and the Weathercock shifted about uneasily on the top of the flagpole.

From Project Gutenberg

"Someone has been making a flagpole," said the Angel, running the toe of her shoe around the stump, evidently made that season.

From Project Gutenberg

I painted a flagpole on a barn up in Massachusetts where there was four hundred dollars in gold hidden under the weather-vane.

From Project Gutenberg

Then it took a long jump straight down Wall Street, smashed a flagpole to slivers, and vanished.

From Project Gutenberg

And so you walk right up the building or church or flagpole, and the smoother the surface the easier you go up.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• beam
• leg
• mast
• rod
• stick