pool

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
a(1)
: a small and rather deep body of usually fresh water
(2)
: a quiet place in a stream
(3)
: a body of water forming above a dam
b
: something resembling a pool
a pool of light
2
: a small body of standing liquid
3
: a continuous area of porous sedimentary rock that yields petroleum or gas
4

pool

2 of 4

verb (1)

pooled; pooling; pools

intransitive verb

1
: to form a pool
2
of blood : to accumulate or become static (as in the veins of a bodily part)

pool

3 of 4

noun (2)

1
a
: an aggregate stake to which each player of a game has contributed
b
: all the money bet by a number of persons on a particular event
2
a
: a game played on an English billiard table in which each of the players stakes a sum and the winner takes all
b
: any of various games of billiards played on an oblong table having 6 pockets with usually 15 object balls
3
: an aggregation of the interests or property of different persons made to further a joint undertaking by subjecting them to the same control and a common liability
4
: a readily available supply: such as
a
: the whole quantity of a particular material present in the body and available for function or the satisfying of metabolic demands
b
: a body product (such as blood) collected from many donors and stored for later use
c
: a group of people available for some purpose
a shrinking pool of applicants
typing pool
5
6
: a group of journalists from usually several news organizations using pooled resources (such as television equipment) to produce shared coverage especially of events to which access is restricted

pool

4 of 4

verb (2)

pooled; pooling; pools

transitive verb

: to combine (things, such as resources) in a common pool or effort

Examples of pool in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Epicureans have new restaurants to try, including taverns, lakeside venues, cafés, and pool bars featuring cuisines that highlight Southern dishes, Italian specialties, seafood and steaks, and pub fare, among others. Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024 Ludovic Blain, executive director of the California Donor Table, a progressive group that pools donor funds, said his organization hopes to invest about $10 million in California House races in the fall, working with local nonprofits in key areas to turn out voters of color. Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 The Dons finished tied for 13th after emerging from a three-way tie for second place in Friday’s pool play, but lost to O’Connor followed by a three-set lost to Kamehameha Kapalama on Saturday. Tim Meehan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2024 There is a detached guest house, a pool house with a kitchen, a dance studio/gym (which the listing notes could be turned into a recording or production studio), a children’s playhouse, sauna, three-car garage and kennel. Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024 The influx of international stars like Jokic and Luka Doncic has also made the league’s talent pool as impressive as it’s ever been. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2024 The loss of the pool has sparked a barrage of messages to the symphony. Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 9 Mar. 2024 The pool was perhaps the best thing that has ever happened to me, followed shortly by climbing into cotton candy-fluffy hooded Edition robe. Jocelyn Silver, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2024 Because of design flaws, investigators say water from the deck constantly seeped into the garage area under the pool, helping corrode reinforcing steel in the support columns. Greg Allen, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
Verb
The plunging dress pooled at her feet before trailing out behind her in a short train. Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 In a 2021 paper published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers from Hasselt University and the University of Antwerp in Belgium pooled the data from 16 separate studies to investigate how different age groups respond to treatment. Benjamin Plackett, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024 The lake cascaded into the Atlantic Ocean, where the freshwater pooled over the denser seawater, disrupting the convection current carrying warm water north from the tropics. Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Her father got a scholarship to the prestigious California Institute of Technology, and the people in his village pooled their money to buy him a one-way ticket on a cargo ship to America. Holly Corbett, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The star was chosen because of the large number of exoplanets around it that reside in what scientists call the habitable zone where liquid water could potentially pool on the surface of a rocky planet. Eric Lagatta, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 Flower Labs, a startup whose open-source software lets an AI model be trained without the need for data to be pooled in single location, has been valued at $100 million following a new investment round. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024 Instead of paying rent, which is paying someone else's mortgage, pool your resources to find that savings to get that downpayment and buy your own house. Ricardo Torres, Journal Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2024 Here’s what Bloomberg Businessweek found: The muck pooling in the tunnel at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip had the consistency of a milkshake and, in some places, sat at least two feet deep. Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik, Quartz, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pool.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English pōl; akin to Old High German pfuol pool

Noun (2)

French poule, literally, hen, from Old French, feminine of poul cock — more at pullet

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb (1)

1626, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1708, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

circa 1780, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pool was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near pool

Cite this Entry

“Pool.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pool. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pool

1 of 4 noun
1
: a small deep body of water
2
: a small body of standing liquid : puddle
3

pool

2 of 4 verb
: to form a pool

pool

3 of 4 noun
1
: the money bet by a number of persons on an event or in a game
2
: a game played on a billiard table having six pockets with usually 15 object balls
3
: a common fund for making investments
4
a
: a readily available supply
a pool of talent
a typing pool
b
: a group sharing in some activity
a car pool

pool

4 of 4 verb
: to contribute to a common fund or effort
pooled their resources
Etymology

Noun

Old English pōl "a small body of water"

Noun

from French poule "the amount of money bet in a card game," literally, "hen," derived from early French poul "a male chicken, cock" — related to pullet

Medical Definition

pool

1 of 2 intransitive verb
of blood
: to accumulate or become static (as in the veins of a bodily part)
blood pooled in his legs

pool

2 of 2 noun
: a readily available supply: as
a
: the whole quantity of a particular material present in the body and available for function or the satisfying of metabolic demands see gene pool, metabolic pool
b
: a body product (as blood) collected from many donors and stored for later use

Legal Definition

pool

1 of 2 noun
1
: an aggregation of the interests, obligations, or undertakings of several parties working together
an insurance pool
2
: a group of people available for some purpose see also jury pool

pool

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to combine (as assets or votes) in a common form or effort
especially : to combine (interests) so as not to have a merger of companies considered a purchase for accounting purposes

More from Merriam-Webster on pool

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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