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flagpole

/ˌflægˈpoʊl/
/ˈflægpəʊl/
IPA guide

Other forms: flagpoles

A flagpole is a long bar that holds a cloth banner representing a country, state, school, or team. If you want to fly the Stars and Stripes on the Fourth of July, you'll need a flagpole!

The word flagpole is pretty straightforward; it's a pole that supports a flag at the end of it. The flagpole on your grandparents' front porch might be five feet long and made of wood, while the aluminum flagpole in front of your school could be 30 feet tall. Before the Great Depression in the 1920s, flagpole-sitting (climbing to the top of a flagpole and staying there as long as possible) briefly became a popular fad.

Definitions of flagpole
  1. noun
    a tall staff or pole on which a flag is raised
    synonyms: flagstaff
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    type of:
    staff
    a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose
  2. noun
    surveying instrument consisting of a straight rod painted in bands of alternate red and white each one foot wide; used for sightings by surveyors
    see moresee less
    type of:
    surveying instrument, surveyor's instrument
    an instrument used by surveyors
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