flagpole
Americannoun
noun
-
a pole or staff on which a flag is hoisted and displayed
-
to pursue a tentative course of action in order to gauge the reaction it receives
Etymology
Origin of flagpole
Explanation
A flagpole is a long bar that holds a cloth banner representing a country, state, school, or team. If you want to fly the Stars and Stripes on the Fourth of July, you'll need a flagpole! The word flagpole is pretty straightforward; it's a pole that supports a flag at the end of it. The flagpole on your grandparents' front porch might be five feet long and made of wood, while the aluminum flagpole in front of your school could be 30 feet tall. Before the Great Depression in the 1920s, flagpole-sitting (climbing to the top of a flagpole and staying there as long as possible) briefly became a popular fad.
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.
Bavarian comedian Maxi Schafroth, 41, attempted to run up the Stars and Stripes on a flagpole near the cultural centre in Nuuk, before he was confronted by angry passers-by.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
Within a few minutes, I spotted another police car, which drove slowly around the flagpole at the entrance, then left.
From Slate • Jun. 19, 2025
The statue will be replaced by a flagpole, as was the case when a different Lenin statue was relocated in Bishek, according to local media.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025
It was overtaken in 1996 by a 200-foot flagpole dedicated by the Lions Club in Dorris, a town of 860 people near the Oregon border.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2024
Some of the girls sat by the flagpole with bell hooks and Sonia Sanchez in their straw totes.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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.
