Pole vs. Rod

Difference Between Pole and Rod

Polenoun

Originally, a stick; now specifically, a long and slender piece of metal or (especially) wood, used for various construction or support purposes.

Rodnoun

A straight, round stick, shaft, bar, cane, or staff.

The circus strong man proved his strength by bending an iron rod, and then straightening it.

Polenoun

(angling) A type of basic fishing rod.

Rodnoun

A longitudinal pole used for forming part of a framework such as an awning or tent.

Polenoun

A long sports implement used for pole-vaulting; now made of glassfiber or carbon fiber, formerly also metal, bamboo and wood have been used.

Rodnoun

(fishing) A long slender usually tapering pole used for angling; fishing rod.

When I hooked a snake and not a fish, I got so scared I dropped my rod in the water.

Polenoun

A telescope used to identify birds, aeroplanes or wildlife.

Rodnoun

A stick, pole, or bundle of switches or twigs (such as a birch), used for personal defense or to administer corporal punishment by whipping.

Polenoun

(historical) A unit of length, equal to a perch (¼ chain or 5½ yards).

Rodnoun

An implement resembling and/or supplanting a rod (particularly a cane) that is used for corporal punishment, and metonymically called the rod, regardless of its actual shape and composition.

The judge imposed on the thief a sentence of fifteen strokes with the rod.

Polenoun

(motor racing) Pole position.

Rodnoun

A stick used to measure distance, by using its established length or task-specific temporary marks along its length, or by dint of specific graduated marks.

I notched a rod and used it to measure the length of rope to cut.

Polenoun

A gun.

Rodnoun

(archaic) A unit of length equal to 1 pole, a perch, ¼ chain, 5½ yards, 16½ feet, or exactly 5.0292 meters (these being all equivalent).

Polenoun

Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object.

Rodnoun

An implement held vertically and viewed through an optical surveying instrument such as a transit, used to measure distance in land surveying and construction layout; an engineer's rod, surveyor's rod, surveying rod, leveling rod, ranging rod. The modern (US) engineer's or surveyor's rod commonly is eight or ten feet long and often designed to extend higher. In former times a surveyor's rod often was a single wooden pole or composed of multiple sectioned and socketed pieces, and besides serving as a sighting target was used to measure distance on the ground horizontally, hence for convenience was of one rod or pole in length, that is, 5½ yards.

Polenoun

A point of magnetic focus, especially each of the two opposing such points of a magnet (designated north and south).

Rodnoun

(archaic) A unit of area equal to a square rod, 30¼ square yards or 1/160 acre.

The house had a small yard of about six rods in size.

Polenoun

(geometry) A fixed point relative to other points or lines.

Rodnoun

A straight bar that unites moving parts of a machine, for holding parts together as a connecting rod or for transferring power as a drive-shaft.

The engine threw a rod, and then went to pieces before our eyes, springs and coils shooting in all directions.

Polenoun

(electricity) A contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves.

Rodnoun

(anatomy) Short for rod cell, a rod-shaped cell in the eye that is sensitive to light.

The rods are more sensitive than the cones, but do not discern color.

Polenoun

(complex analysis) For a meromorphic function $f(z)$ , any point $a$ for which $f(z) \rightarrow \infty$ as $z \rightarrow a$ .

Rodnoun

(biology) Any of a number of long, slender microorganisms.

He applied a gram positive stain, looking for rods indicative of Listeria.

Polenoun

(obsolete) The firmament; the sky.

Rodnoun

(chemistry) A stirring rod: a glass rod, typically about 6 inches to 1 foot long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter that can be used to stir liquids in flasks or beakers.

Polenoun

Either of the states that characterize a bipolar disorder.

Rodnoun

(slang) A pistol; a gun.

Poleverb

To propel by pushing with poles, to push with a pole.

Huck Finn poled that raft southward down the Mississippi because going northward against the current was too much work.

Rodnoun

A penis.

Poleverb

To identify something quite precisely using a telescope.

He poled off the serial of the Gulfstream to confirm its identity.

Rodnoun

(slang) A hot rod, an automobile or other passenger motor vehicle modified to run faster and often with exterior cosmetic alterations, especially one based originally on a pre-1940s model or (currently) denoting any older vehicle thus modified.

Poleverb

(transitive) To furnish with poles for support.

to pole beans or hops

Rodnoun

(ufology) A rod-shaped object that appears in photographs or videos traveling at high speed, not seen by the person recording the event, often associated with extraterrestrial entities.