n. & v.
n. 1 a (often attrib.) a common supply of persons, vehicles, commodities, etc. for sharing by a group of people (a typing pool; a pool car). b a group of persons sharing duties etc. 2 a the collective amount of players' stakes in gambling etc. b a receptacle for this. 3 a a joint commercial venture, esp. an arrangement between competing parties to fix prices and share business to eliminate competition. b the common funding for this. 4 a US a game on a billiard-table with usu. 16 balls. b Brit. a game on a billiard-table in which each player has a ball of a different colour with which he tries to pocket the others in fixed order, the winner taking all of the stakes. 5 a group of contestants who compete against each other in a tournament for the right to advance to the next round.
v.tr. 1 put (resources etc.) into a common fund. 2 share (things) in common. 3 (of transport or organizations etc.) share (traffic, receipts). 4 Austral. sl. a involve (a person) in a scheme etc., often by deception. b implicate, inform on. the pools Brit. = football pool.
[ F poule (= hen) in same sense: assoc. with POOL(1) ]