See Also: Pool(medicine)
pool(encyclopedia)
pool(4)(dictionary)
POOL(law)
pool(3)(dictionary)
pool(2)(dictionary)
pool(1)(dictionary)
car pool(dictionary)
Pool(finance)
Pool(money)

pool(2) (iou)



pool noun2. [pu:l] L17.
[French poule stake, (orig.) hen (see PULLET): cf. Spanish polla hen, stake at ombre. Assoc. with POOL noun1 was prob. furthered by the identification of fish (in the pool) with French fiche counter (see FISH noun2).]
A game of cards in which there is a pool (sense 2a). L17-M19.
a. The stakes laid by the players in a card-game and winnable together; the collective amount of these. E18.
W. Black They continued the game..with the addition of a half-a-crown pool to increase the attraction.
b. A container for these. L18.
A game played on a billiard-table in which the object is to pocket all the balls with a cue-ball, esp. (a) a game in which each player has a ball of a different colour for use as a cue-ball to pocket the other balls in fixed order, the winner taking all the stakes; (b) N. Amer. a game played with balls numbered one to fifteen, the number of each ball pocketed being added to a player's score; (c) N. Amer. = eight ball s.v. EIGHT noun. M19.
Kelly pool, snooker's pool, etc. pool-ball, pool cue, pool-hall, pool player, pool-table, etc. dirty pool N. Amer. colloq. unfair tactics, dishonesty.
Which? People in Scotland played the most bar billiards, pool or snooker.
A rifle-shooting contest in which each competitor pays a certain sum for every shot he or she fires and the proceeds go to the winners. M19.
a. The collective stakes laid on the competitors in a contest, the proceeds being divided among the backers of the winner. M19.
M. Twain No pools permitted on the run of the cometno gambling of any kind.
b. spec. An organized system of gambling on the results of football matches, esp. on a weekly basis, in which (usu. regular) amounts of money are laid, and winnings of various amounts are paid out. Usu. in pl. (freq. as the pools). Also football pool(s). E20.
pools coupon, pools winner, etc.
P. Fitzgerald They may have won the pools.
a. A common fund into which all contributors pay and from which financial backing is provided; a source of common funding, esp. for speculative operations on financial markets. Also, the contributors involved in this; a combine. L19.
New York Times Often in pools or syndicates, participants would subscribe large sums.
b. A common supply of people, commodities, resources, etc., which may be shared or drawn on; a group of people who share duties. E20.
car pool, gene pool, typing pool, etc.
G. F. Newman The official pool out of which informants were paid. Sunday Telegraph From its pool of some 45 players, each side selects two separate squads. Railnews Locomotive 37672 is one of a small pool of locomotives used to haul china clay.
Commerce. An arrangement between competing parties to fix rates and share business, in order to eliminate competition and promote high output and prices. Orig. US. L19.
Times The public was shocked by the revelations of stocks manipulations, pools..and..other abuses.
Sport. A contest in which each member of a group or team competes either against every other member, or against each member of another group or team. E20.
Sunday Telegraph The team flies to Groningen tomorrow, drawn in a tough pool with Poland, Spain, and Hungary. Black Belt International He had fought his way through the pools with his customary efficiency.
Comb.: pool car (a) a freight vehicle shared by several hirers; (b) a car available to several drivers; pool room noun2 (a) a room with a pool-table or -tables, esp. one where a charge is made for playing; (b) a betting shop; pool shark N. Amer. colloq. an expert at pool; a person who makes money by winning at pool; pools panel: which decides the results of football matches for the pools when more than a certain number of matches have been cancelled.