Sapling Logo

“Pole” or “Poll”

pole / poll are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

Get Sapling See examples
Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

pole p·OW·l

  • nouna long (usually round) rod of wood or metal or plastic.
  • nouna native or inhabitant of Poland.
  • nounone of two divergent or mutually exclusive opinions.
  • nounone of two points of intersection of the Earth's axis and the celestial sphere.
  • nounone of two antipodal points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the Earth's surface.
  • nouna long fiberglass sports implement used for pole vaulting.
  • nounone of the two ends of a magnet where the magnetism seems to be concentrated.
  • verbsupport on poles.
  • verbdeoxidize molten metals by stirring them with a wooden pole.

poll p·OW·l

  • nounan inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people.
  • nounthe part of the head between the ears.
  • nouna tame parrot.
  • nounthe counting of votes (as in an election).
  • verbget the opinions (of people) by asking specific questions.
  • verbvote in an election at a polling station.
  • verbget the votes of.
  • verbconvert into a pollard.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“pole”

  • …fixed to a tree or pole, and is command detonated.
  • the polelathe and a variety of chisels,…
  • …of 2000 between political giants Pole of Freedoms and Lega Nord.
  • …with nine wins and six pole positions from the sixteen races.
  • …Vegas and Paul and performing pole dances.
  • …turning the leg with the pole lathe (the pole lathe was…
  • …name from a fallen telephone pole within the reef.
  • …at Siple Station and South Pole Station from 1973 onwards.
  • …recent (post 1980) revival of pole lathe turning with many chairmakers…
  • …with the alliance between his Pole of Freedoms and his former…

“poll”

  • …ranked team in the AP Poll going into the game.
  • …Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll of the best albums of
  • …name once again by Deed Poll to Hugh Vere Huntly Duff…
  • A December 2006 poll by Harris Interactive, published in…
  • …according to The Film Daily's poll of over 1800 critics.
  • One opinion poll in September gave Sata a…
  • Another poll earlier in the month gave…
  • …season ranked in the AP Poll for the first time in…
  • …the voters in the AP Poll were not adequately impressed with…
  • …at least according to one poll.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

Too much to remember?

Looking for a tool that handles this for you wherever you write?

Install Sapling Try the grammar checker