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  • Maypole
    Maypole
    noun
    a tall pole, decorated with flowers and ribbons, around which people dance or engage in sports during May Day celebrations.
  • maypole
    maypole
    noun
    a tall pole fixed upright in an open space during May-Day celebrations, around which people dance holding streamers attached at its head

Maypole

American  
[mey-pohl] / ˈmeɪˌpoʊl /

noun

(often lowercase)
  1. a tall pole, decorated with flowers and ribbons, around which people dance or engage in sports during May Day celebrations.


maypole British  
/ ˈmeɪˌpəʊl /

noun

  1. a tall pole fixed upright in an open space during May-Day celebrations, around which people dance holding streamers attached at its head

"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

Etymology

Origin of Maypole

First recorded in 1545–55; May + pole 1

Vocabulary lists containing maypole

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.

I added colorful leis and flowers to create a Maypole vibe.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 24, 2020

That said, “it’s a work in progress,” said Jack Maypole, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center and father to three.

From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2020

However, Mark Vipond, chair of the Maypole Trust, said the centuries-old method had since been scrapped in favour of a crane after insurers caught wind.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2019

T-shirts -- swarmed around the grinning golfer as if he were a Maypole.

From Golf Digest • Apr. 2, 2013

By the time I had celebrated my twelfth birthday back on December 7, 1953, I'd believed I had put aside my hurt over being left out of all the Maypole dances forever.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals