a long thin straight piece of wood or metal, especially one with the end placed in the ground, used as a support 竿；杆子；杖；篙 
a tent pole 帳篷支柱 a ski pole 滑雪杖 a curtain pole 窗簾杆
Extra ExamplesA punt is a boat that you move by pushing a long pole against the bottom of the river. 平底船是一種通過將一根長杆推向河底來移動的船。 I stood resting on my ski poles and watched her come down the slope. 我站在滑雪杆上休息，看着她從斜坡上下來。 The tent poles are made of aluminium 帳篷杆是鋁制的 a fishing pole 釣竿
either of the two points at the opposite ends of the line on which the earth or any other planet turns （行星的）極；地極 the North/South Pole 北極；南極 The meridian is an imaginary line drawn from pole to pole. 子午線是從極點到極點的一條假想線。 The north magnetic pole lies to the west of the geographic North Pole. 磁北極位於地北極的西面。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- North
- South
- geographic
- …
- between the (two) poles of
- from pole to pole
- be poles apart
- (
physics 物理 either of the two ends of a magnet, or the positive or negative points of an electric battery 磁極；電極 Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- North
- South
- geographic
- …
- between the (two) poles of
- from pole to pole
- be poles apart
either of two opposite or very different extremes （對立或相反的）任何一方；極端 Their opinions were at opposite poles of the debate. 他們的意見在辯論中截然相反。 an artistic compromise between the poles of abstraction and representation 在抽象與具象兩種藝術極端之間作出的折衷
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- North
- South
- geographic
- …
- between the (two) poles of
- from pole to pole
- be poles apart
Word Originnoun sense 1 and up the pole. late Old English pāl (in early use without reference to thickness or length), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch paal and German Pfahl, based on Latin palus ‘stake’. noun senses 2 to 4 and be poles apart. late Middle English: from Latin polus ‘end of an axis’, from Greek polos ‘pivot, axis, sky’.
Idioms
be poles apart
to be widely separated; to have no interests that you share 天南地北；南轅北轍；截然相反 Her own friends were poles apart from his. 她自己的朋友與他截然不同。 In temperament, she and her sister are poles apart. 她和姐姐的性情截然相反。
the greasy pole
- (informal)
used to refer to the difficult way to the top of a profession 塗油杆（到達專業之巅的艱難道路）；險峻的職業階梯
not touch somebody/something with a ten-foot pole (North American English)
(British English not touch somebody/something with a bargepole)
- (informal)
to refuse to get involved with somebody/something or in a particular situation 決不與…有任何牽扯；拒不牽扯到…中去 Personally, I wouldn’t touch him or his business with a ten-foot pole. 就我個人而言，我不會用一根十英尺長的杆子去碰他或他的生意。
up the pole
- (British English, old-fashioned, informal)
crazy 發狂的；瘋狂的