1071
pom
poll watcher n a person who goes to a POLLING STATION to make sure that the voting is fair and honest: Poll watchers were sent to observe the country's first democratic elections but were unable to prevent some abuses.
Pol-ly /'pɒli||'pɑː-/ a name that is supposed to be a typical name for a PARROT. Parrots are often taught to say the words 'Pretty Polly'.
Pol-ly-an-na /ˌpɒli'ænə||ˌpɑː-/ the main character in the book Pollyanna (1913) by Eleanor Porter, who is a young girl who always believes something good will happen. People sometimes use her name to describe someone who is always cheerful and always expects good things to happen, especially when they have not had much experience of the world.
po-lo /'pəʊləʊ/ n [U] a game played between two teams of players on horseback, who hit a small ball with long-handled wooden hammers. Polo is a game which is played and watched especially by very rich and fashionable people, including Prince CHARLES, and is seen as a GLAMOROUS and exciting sport. → see also WATER POLO; see colour photo on page A44
Polo¹ also 'Polo mint trademark a type of hard, round, white sweet sold in the UK, which tastes of MINT and has a hole in the middle. Advertisements for Polos use the phrase 'Polo, the mint with a hole'.
Polo² trademark a type of small car made by the German company Volkswagen
Polo, Mar-co /ˌmɑːkəʊ||'mɑːr-/ (?1254–1324) an Italian traveller whose writings gave Europeans their first knowledge of life in the FAR EAST. He went to India, southeast Asia, and China, and spent several years working for the Chinese EMPEROR KUBLAI KHAN.
pol-o-naise /ˌpɒlə'neɪz||ˌpɑː-/ n a piece of music of a slow ceremonial kind, especially written for the piano
polo neck especially BrE || turtleneck especially AmE — n a round rolled collar, usually woollen: a polo-neck sweater
po-lo-ni-um /pə'ləʊniəm/ n [U] a heavy metal that is a simple substance (ELEMENT) and is RADIOACTIVE
Po-lo-ni-us /pə'ləʊniəs/ an old man who is the father of OPHELIA and Laertes in the play Hamlet by William SHAKESPEARE. Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius when Polonius is hiding behind the 'arras' (=a sort of thick curtain).
polo shirt n a shirt with short SLEEVES and a collar made out of soft knitted (KNIT) cotton material
Pol Pot /ˌpɒl 'pɒt||ˌpɑːl 'pɑːt/ (1926–98) the leader of the Communist KHMER ROUGE group, and Prime Minister of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, during which time about 3 million people were killed. Pol Pot was taken prisoner by government soldiers in 1997. He is regarded by many people as one of the most evil leaders of the 20th century.
pol-ter-geist /'pɒltəgaɪst||'pɒltər-/ n a troublesome spirit that is believed to make noises, throw objects about etc, especially in a home. Not everyone believes that poltergeists really exist.
pol-troon /pɒl'truːn||pɑːl-/ n derog old use a coward
pol-y /'pɒli||'pɑːlɪ/ n pl. polys BrE infml for POLYTECHNIC
poly- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
pol-y-an-dry /ˌpɒli'ændrɪ, 'pɒliændrɪ||ˌpɑː-/ n [U] tech the custom or practice of having more than one husband at the same time. In Britain and the US it is against the law for women to do this. → compare BIGAMY, POLYGAMY —drous adj
pol-y-an-thus /ˌpɒli'ænθəs||ˌpɑː-/ n [C;U] a small garden plant with a group of round brightly-coloured flowers at the top of each stem
pol-y-es-ter /'pɒliestər, ˌpɒli'estər||'pɑːliːestər/ n [U] a man-made material used to make cloth. Polyester is not usually as expensive or as fashionable as natural materials such as wool or cotton.
pol-y-eth-yl-ene /ˌpɒli'θiːliːn||ˌpɑː-/ n [U] especially AmE for POLYTHENE
po-lyg-a-mist /pə'lɪgəmɪst/ n tech a man who has more than one wife in a society where this is allowed → see also POLYGAMY
po-lyg-a-my /pə'lɪgəmi/ n [U] tech the custom or practice of having more than one husband or wife at the same time in a society where this is allowed. In Britain and the US it is against the law for men or women to do this. → compare BIGAMY, MONOGAMY —mous adj: Many ancient societies were polygamous.
pol-y-glot /'pɒlɪglɒt||'pɑːlɪglɑːt/ adj tech 1 (of a person, book etc) speaking or using many languages; MULTILINGUAL 2 including groups that speak different languages: a polyglot population/society —polyglot n
pol-y-gon /'pɒlɪgən||'pɑːlɪgɑːn/ n (in GEOMETRY) a figure on a flat surface having five or more straight sides
pol-y-graph /'pɒlɪgrɑːf||'pɑːlɪgræf/ n tech for LIE DETECTOR
pol-y-math /'pɒlɪmæθ||'pɑː-/ n fml apprec a person who has a wide range of knowledge in many subjects
pol-y-mer /'pɒlɪmə||'pɑː-/ n a chemical compound having a simple structure of large MOLECULES
pol-y-mor-phous /ˌpɒlɪ'mɔːfəs||ˌpɑːlɪ'mɔːr-/ also pol-y-mor-phic /-fɪk/ adj fml or tech having or passing through many stages of growth, development etc
Pol-y-ne-si-a /ˌpɒlɪ'niːziə||ˌpɑːlɪ'niːʒə/ the islands in the central and southern Pacific Ocean, including the Hawaiian islands, Tonga, Samoa, and the islands of French Polynesia
Pol-y-ne-si-an /ˌpɒlɪ'niːziən||ˌpɑːlɪ'niʒən/ n, 1 [C] someone who comes from Polynesia 2 [U] a group of languages spoken in Polynesia —Polynesian adj
pol-yp /'pɒlɪp||'pɑː-/ n 1 a very simple small water animal, having the form of a tube like a bag 2 a small unnatural growth in the body, caused by an illness —ous adj
po-lyph-o-ny /pə'lɪfəni/ n [U] a form of musical writing in which several different patterns of notes are sung or played together, fitting in with each other musically, according to certain rules; COUNTERPOINT —nic /ˌpɒlɪ'fɒnɪk||ˌpɑːlɪ'fɑː-/ adj
pol-y-pro-pyl-ene /ˌpɒlɪ'prəʊpɪliːn||ˌpɑː-/ n [U] a light-weight plastic material used for wrapping, in floor coverings etc
po-lys-e-mous /pə'lɪsɪməs, ˌpɒlɪ'siːməs||pə'lɪsɪməs/ adj tech (of a word) having many different meanings
pol-y-sor-bate /ˌpɒlɪ'sɔːbeɪt||ˌpɑːlɪ'sɔːr-/ n [U] a kind of EMULSIFIER used in preparing PROCESSED FOODS to keep liquids and solids from separating; a food ADDITIVE
pol-y-sty-rene /ˌpɒlɪ'staɪriːn||ˌpɑː-/ || also Styrofoam AmE trademark — n [U] a light plastic that prevents the escape of heat, used especially for making containers
pol-y-syl-la-ble /'pɒlɪˌsɪləbl||'pɑː-/ n tech a word that contains more than three SYLLABLES —bic /ˌpɒlɪsɪ'læbɪk||ˌpɑː-/ adj: 'Unnecessary' is polysyllabic. —bically /kli/ adv
pol-y-tech-nic /ˌpɒlɪ'teknɪk||ˌpɑː-/ also poly infml — n [C] a kind of British college similar to a UNIVERSITY which provided training and degrees in many subjects, and existed until 1993
pol-y-the-ism /'pɒlɪθiːɪzəm||'pɑː-/ n [U] the belief that there is more than one god → compare MONOTHEISM —ist adj, n —istic /ˌpɒlɪθɪ'ɪstɪk||ˌpɑː-/ adj
pol-y-thene /'pɒlɪθiːn||'pɑː-/ also polyethylene especially AmE — n [U] a strong light bendable plastic used especially as a protective covering, for making many common articles: a polythene bag
pol-y-un-sat-u-rate /ˌpɒliʌn'sætʃərt||ˌpɑ-/ n a polyunsaturated FATTY ACID: This vegetable oil is high in polyunsaturates.
pol-y-un-sat-u-rat-ed /ˌpɒliʌn'sætʃəreɪtɪd||ˌpɑː-/ adj (of a fat or oil) having chemicals combined in a way that is thought to be good for the health when eaten: Most vegetable oils contain polyunsaturated fats. → compare SATURATED FAT
pol-y-u-re-thane /ˌpɒlɪjʊə'rɛθeɪn||ˌpɑː-/ n [U] a plastic used especially in making paints and VARNISH
pom /pɒm||pɑːm/ also pommy n AustE, NZE slang, often derog an English person, especially one who has gone to live in Australia or New Zealand
CULTURAL NOTE In Australia and New Zealand the popular image of an English person is of someone who is lazy and who complains all the time, and someone like this is called 'a whinging Pom'.