pools

British

/ puːlz /

plural noun

Also called: football pools. an organized nationwide principally postal gambling pool betting on the result of football matches

"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 pools

C20: from _pool ² (in the sense: a gambling kitty)

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.

In Lennar’s land banking arrangement with Millrose Properties, the internal land bank it spun off last year, the land is cross-collateralized into pools.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Others look sturdier: Nearly two-thirds of revenue at Pool Corp is for maintenance of existing pools and its distribution ability is unparalleled.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

He told BBC Scotland News it particularly sad to see diving pools close when there are not similar facilities close by.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Wells Fargo raised Alphabet’s price target to $397, representing 41% upside, citing new profit pools.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

“The pH alone would probably take years off his life. And have you seen Kwame try to swim? It’s like watching a wounded cat in one of those wave pools at the amusement park!”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023