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Glite Dictionary
barge pole

barge pole

7.5
A long pole used to push and guide a boat like a barge on a canal
  • noun
translation icon : palo de barcaza
  • Traditional bargemen relied on a sturdy barge pole to maneuver their craft.

Examples

  • With a hefty barge pole, he guided the vessel through the narrow canal.

  • The crew used a barge pole to push the boat away from the riverbank.

  • He pushed the boat with a barge pole.

  • The barge pole was made of sturdy wood.

  • The crew used a barge pole to push the boat away from the riverbank.

  • With a hefty barge pole, he guided the vessel through the narrow canal.

  • Traditional bargemen relied on a sturdy barge pole to maneuver their craft.

Synonyms

quant
vsbarge pole
  • UK
1 9.9

A long pole used to push a boat through shallow water

is for moving or guiding larger canal vessels rather than small boats
boathook
vsbarge pole
  • Specialized
5.8

A long pole with a hook used to push, pull, or steady a boat

is a plain pole used to propel or steer larger canal vessels
boat hook
vsbarge pole
3.9

A long pole with a hook used to push, pull, or catch things near boats

is a simple long pole for moving or guiding larger canal vessels

Surface Forms

barge pole singular
barge poles plural

Morphology

barge + pole

The meaning is fully compositional: 'barge' (a flat-bottomed boat) + 'pole' (a long stick) directly describes a long pole used with a barge. This simple noun-noun compounding follows regular semantic composition and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand the MWE.

Etymology

Barge pole names the very long pole that people on a flat barge used to push or steer the boat in shallow water. That's why it means 'a long pole used to push or guide a barge'.