flagpole

IPA/ˈflæɡpəʊl/
KK[flˈæɡpˌol]IPA/ˈflæɡpəʊl/

flagpole — noun

  • flagpolesingular
  • flagpolesplural

1. an upright wooden or metal post used for displaying a flag, usually fitted with

1.nounB2
Definition

an upright wooden or metal post used for displaying a flag, usually fitted with a rope and small pulley so the flag can be raised or lowered.

Example

Gabriela raised the school flag to the top of the flagpole every Monday morning.

raise [flag] to the top of the flagpole

A tall metal flagpole stood in front of the town hall, with the national flag flying from it.

[adj] flagpole stood in front of [building]

Common collocations
  • tall flagpole
  • metal flagpole
  • wooden flagpole
  • raise a flag on a flagpole
  • lower the flag on the flagpole
  • top of the flagpole
Synonyms
  • flagstaff

    more formal; common in military and ceremonial contexts

  • flag pole

    two-word spelling variant; less common in edited writing

Grammar Patterns

[determiner] + flagpole

raise/lower on a flagpole

Usage Note

Subject is typically a flag-related action (raise, lower, hoist, fly, fasten). Often paired with a height modifier (tall, towering) or material (wooden, metal, aluminum).

Common Mistakes

They put the flag up the flagpole.
They raised the flag up the flagpole.
use 'raise' or 'hoist' with flagpole, not the bare verb 'put'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three words name an upright pole that holds a flag, but they differ in register and typical setting. 'Flagpole' is the everyday word used in schools, parks, government buildings, and homes; learners should default to it. 'Flagstaff' is more formal and ceremonial, common in military bases, embassies, and historical writing — it can also refer to the short pole on which a flag is mounted to be carried in a parade. 'Mast' usually refers to the tall vertical pole on a ship that supports sails, but it also names the pole on a ship from which the flag is flown ('the flag was raised on the mast'), and the technical phrase 'half-mast' (or 'half mast') still uses this word even for land-based flagpoles. So: school yard → flagpole; military parade → flagstaff; ship → mast.

flagpole ↗flagstaff ↗mast ↗

Etymology

LatinOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

A straightforward compound of 'flag' + 'pole', first attested in English in the 1880s as the practice of flying national flags from tall public poles spread in the United States and Britain. 'Flag' itself comes from late Middle English, possibly from a Scandinavian source meaning a piece of cloth that flaps in the wind. 'Pole' comes from Old English 'pal', borrowed from Latin 'palus' meaning a stake driven into the ground.