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# po

noun (a po, pos — UK old-fashioned); abbreviation (PO, P.O.); also a name (the Po)

«po» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (UK, old-fashioned, informal) A po is a chamber pot: a bowl kept under the bed to wee in at night in the days before indoor toilets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#m1)
2. (abbreviation) PO stands for Post Office, as in «PO Box», a box at the post office where letters can be collected; also «purchase order» in business and «petty officer» in the navy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#m2)
3. (a name) The Po is the longest river in Italy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#m3)
4. (Mandarin, pinyin) «pó» means grandmother on the mother's side in «pópo» (Cantonese and Mandarin speakers also say this), and «pō» means slope; it sounds like «paw». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#m4)
5. (a name) Po is a character's name, like the red Teletubby and the panda in «Kung Fu Panda». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#m5)

### In the lessons

In history lessons about Victorian and Tudor homes, people used a po or chamber pot at night and emptied it in the morning. In everyday life a PO Box is an address for letters. In geography, the River Po flows across northern Italy to the Adriatic Sea. In stories and cartoons, Po is a name. Phrases: PO Box, chamber pot, the River Po, po-faced (UK: serious and disapproving).

### Examples

- In Victorian times, people kept a po under the bed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x1)
- Send your entry to PO Box 25. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x2)
- The River Po flows across northern Italy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x3)
- Po is the panda in «Kung Fu Panda». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x4)
- Po was the smallest Teletubby. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x5)
- (UK, informal) The teacher looked po-faced when we laughed in assembly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x6)
- The chamber pot was also called a po. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x7)
- The farmland around the Po is very flat and rich. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/#x8)

### Note

As «chamber pot», «po» is old and slightly funny; plural «pos». As an abbreviation it is in capitals: PO, P.O. «Po-faced» (UK, informal) means looking very serious and not amused. In pinyin, tones change the meaning; «po» alone is not English. Context tells you which meaning is meant.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «po» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/po/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«po» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/po.html) on Mova free.