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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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
World champion Lando Norris took victory from pole position in Hungary on Sunday to secure his and McLaren's first grand prix win of 2026.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Norris pulled out pole, following one in the sprint in Miami, in a chaotic end to the session caused by a spin at the final corner by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
It is the franchise’s longest since 1946, a time when Johnny Pesky was the team’s starting shortstop and not yet the namesake of Fenway Park’s right-field foul pole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
As Ms. Newsome removed the Confederate flag and carried it down the pole, she recited Psalm 27 and the Lord’s Prayer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Then he’d jump off and send the rings crashing into the middle pole with a clang that made me flinch.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
"In a week, you could have distribution of molecules from the South to the North Pole."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
The simulations showed methane reaching the North Pole in less than two lunar days.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
A former Australian Open junior doubles finalist alongside fellow Pole Iga Swiatek, Chwalinska has spoken openly about the depression that led her to take a break from tennis early in her professional career.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
The Pole went back to her family home and sought help from mental health specialists.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Maybe some sympathetic Pole would take me in, hide me in their barn.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
Brown tree snakes have driven many of Guam's native forest birds to local extinction, and they cause hundreds of power outages each year by climbing utility poles and electrical equipment.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
The tropics receive far more energy from the sun than the poles.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
A portion of those particles are channeled to Earth’s magnetic poles, and when the solar wind is particularly active, they become visible as the aurora borealis and aurora australis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Banners on light poles proclaimed “250” — the birthday celebrated this year by both the mission and the United States.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
With the aid of the camaradas’ poles and paddles, they continued down the river.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
The crystals used in the experiments were carefully grown and then exposed to the electric field, or "poled," by Raffi Sahul at Amphenol Corporation.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Roman trumpet with the rattle of the sistrum, chased the Liburnian prow with a poled barge, spread her foul mosquito nets over the Tarpeian Rock, and gave judgements among Marius’ weapons and statues.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Doing the heavy lifting, however, were crew members — usually enslaved people, freedmen or poor White people — extraordinary watermen who poled their flotillas to market in Richmond.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 10, 2022
“We always had a southern swamp opening, lots of hanging Spanish moss ... one number, she entered on a raft poled by one of the dancers across a dry ice stage.”
From The Guardian ● Oct. 17, 2018
“Do you suppose,” I asked, as I poled the skiff, the focus of my romantic musings shifting from my own wedding day to Mr. Rice’s, “do you suppose her parents oppose the marriage?”
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
The spokesperson said they were working "to overcome additional challenges such as secondary damages and additional poling and cabling work in some areas".
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2025
These shorter wavelengths are achieved when the trapped light in the cavity undergoes a process called all-optical poling, which induces what is known as second-order nonlinearity in the silicon nitride.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2023
In the famous painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” by Emanuel Leutze, there, at George Washington’s right knee, is a Marblehead Mariner vigorously poling the general on to victory at Trenton.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2021
“We’re going to get into the world of different poling techniques,” Mr. Paulsen said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2014
Perhaps ten minutes later a boat floated down the serene surface of the canal, a tall lank man with black hair poling it along with leisurely drives of his arms.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
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.
