pooh-pooh /puː puː / (pooh-poohs , pooh-poohing , pooh-poohed ) VERB If someone pooh-poohs an idea or suggestion, they say or imply that it is foolish, impractical, or unnecessary. □ [V n] In the past he has pooh-poohed suggestions that he might succeed Isaacs.
pool ◆◇◇ /puː l/ (pools , pooling , pooled )
1 N‑COUNT A pool is the same as a swimming pool . □ …a heated indoor pool. □ During winter, many people swim and the pool is crowded.
2 N‑COUNT A pool is a fairly small area of still water. □ The pool had dried up and was full of bracken and reeds.
3 → see also rock pool
4 N‑COUNT A pool of liquid or light is a small area of it on the ground or on a surface. □ [+ of ] She was found lying in a pool of blood. □ [+ of ] The lamps on the side-tables threw warm pools of light on the polished wood.
5 N‑COUNT A pool of people, money, or things is a quantity or number of them that is available for an organization or group to use. □ [+ of ] The new proposal would create a reserve pool of cash.
6 → see also car pool
7 VERB If a group of people or organizations pool their money, knowledge, or equipment, they share it or put it together so that it can be used for a particular purpose. □ [V n] We pooled ideas and information.
8 N‑UNCOUNT Pool is a game played on a large table covered with a cloth. Players use a long stick called a cue to hit a white ball across the table so that it knocks coloured balls with numbers on them into six holes around the edge of the table.
9 N‑PLURAL If you do the pools , you take part in a gambling competition in which people try to win money by guessing correctly the results of football matches. [BRIT ] □ The odds of winning the pools are about one in 20 million. COLLOCATIONS pool NOUN
1
noun + pool : hydrotherapy, plunge; hotel, rooftop; infinity
adjective + pool : heated; indoor, outdoor
5
noun + pool : gene; bonus, talent
poop /puː p/ (poops ) N‑COUNT The poop of an old-fashioned sailing ship is the raised structure at the back end of it. □ …the poop deck.
pooped /puː pt/ ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you are pooped , you are very tired. [AM , INFORMAL ]
poor ◆◆◇ /pʊə r , pɔː r / (poorer , poorest )
1 ADJ Someone who is poor has very little money and few possessions. □ The reason our schools cannot afford better teachers is because people here are poor. □ He was one of thirteen children from a poor family. ● N‑PLURAL The poor are people who are poor. □ Even the poor have their pride.
2 ADJ The people in a poor country or area have very little money and few possessions. □ Many countries in the Third World are as poor as they have ever been. □ …a settlement house for children in a poor neighborhood.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] You use poor to express your sympathy for someone. [FEELINGS ] □ I feel sorry for that poor child. □ Poor chap–he was killed in an air crash.
4 ADJ If you describe something as poor , you mean that it is of a low quality or standard or that it is in bad condition. □ The flat was in a poor state of repair. □ The food was poor. ● poor|ly ADV [ADV -ed, ADV after v] □ Some are living in poorly built dormitories, even in tents.
5 ADJ If you describe an amount, rate, or number as poor , you mean that it is less than expected or less than is considered reasonable. □ …poor wages and working conditions. ● poor|ly ADV [ADV -ed, ADV after v] □ During the first week, the evening meetings were poorly attended.
6 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use poor to describe someone who is not very skilful in a particular activity. □ He was a poor actor. □ [+ at ] Hospitals are poor at collecting information. ● poor|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ This team can play very well or very poorly.
7 ADJ If something is poor in a particular quality or substance, it contains very little of the quality or substance. □ …soil that is poor in zinc.
poor|house /pʊə r haʊs, pɔː r -/ (poorhouses ) also poor-house N‑COUNT In former times in Britain, a poorhouse was an institution in which poor people could live. It was paid for by the public.
poor|ly /pʊə r li, pɔː r -/
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone is poorly , they are ill. [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ I've just phoned Julie and she's still poorly. in AM, use sick 2 → see also poor
poo r re|la |tion (poor relations ) N‑COUNT If you describe one thing as a poor relation of another, you mean that it is similar to or part of the other thing, but is considered to be inferior to it. □ [+ of ] Watercolour still seems somehow to be the poor relation of oil painting.
pop ◆◇◇ /pɒ p/ (pops , popping , popped )
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Pop is modern music that usually has a strong rhythm and uses electronic equipment. □ …the perfect combination of Caribbean rhythms, European pop, and American soul. □ …a life-size poster of a pop star. □ I know nothing about pop music.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to fizzy drinks such as lemonade as pop . [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ He still visits the village shop for buns and fizzy pop. □ …glass pop bottles. in AM, usually use soda pop 3 N‑COUNT Pop is used to represent a short sharp sound, for example the sound made by bursting a balloon or by pulling a cork out of a bottle. □ His back tyre just went pop on a motorway.