pool
pool1 / poōl/ • n. a small area of still water, typically one formed naturally. ∎ a small, shallow patch of liquid lying on a surface: a pool of blood | fig. the lamps cast pools of light on the wet streets. ∎ a swimming pool. ∎ a deep place in a river.• v. [intr.] (of water or another liquid) form a pool on the ground or another surface: the oil pooled behind the quay walls, escaping slowly into the river. ∎ (of blood) accumulate in parts of the venous system.pool2 • n. 1. a supply of vehicles or goods available for use when needed: the oldest vehicle in the motor pool. ∎ a group of people available for work when required: the typing pool. ∎ a group of people considered as a resource: a nationwide pool of promising high-school students. ∎ an arrangement, illegal in many countries, between competing parties to fix prices or rates and share business in order to eliminate competition. ∎ a common fund into which all contributors pay and from which financial backing is provided: big public investment pools. ∎ a source of common funding for speculative operations on financial markets: a huge pool of risk capital. ∎ a group of contestants who compete against each other in a tournament for the right to advance to the next round. ∎ the collective amount of players' stakes in gambling or sweepstakes; a kitty.2. Billiards a game played on a table using fifteen colored and numbered balls and a white cue ball. ∎ another term for pocket billiards. ∎ short for straight pool.• v. [tr.] (of two or more people or organizations) put (money or other assets) into a common fund: they entered a contract to pool any gains and invest them profitably. ∎ share (things) for the benefit of all those involved: [as n.] (pooling) a pooling of ideas. DERIVATIVES: pool·er n.