totem pole
nounDefinition of totem pole
1
: a pole or pillar carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols representing family lineage and often mythical or historical incidents and erected by Indian tribes of the northwest coast of North America
2
: an order of rank : hierarchy
Illustration of totem pole
totem pole 1
Examples of totem pole in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Low man on the show’s totem pole is Salam, an underachieving slacker who has a job as a production assistant only because his uncle Bassam (Nadim Sawalha) is the show’s producer and creator. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Review: ‘Tel Aviv on Fire’ deliciously walks fine comedic line of Israeli-Palestinian conflict," 8 Aug. 2019 Low man on the show’s totem pole is Salam, an underachieving slacker who has a job as a production assistant only because his uncle Bassam (Nadim Sawalha) is the show’s producer and creator. — Kenneth Turan, Twin Cities, "‘Tel Aviv on Fire’ deliciously walks fine comedic line of Israeli-Palestinian conflict," 8 Aug. 2019 Low man on the show’s totem pole is Salam, an underachieving slacker who has a job as a production assistant only because his uncle Bassam (Nadim Sawalha) is the show’s producer and creator. — Kenneth Turan, Detroit Free Press, "'Tel Aviv on Fire' plays Mideast politics for laughs," 8 Aug. 2019 Low man on the show’s totem pole is Salam, an underachieving slacker who has a job as a production assistant only because his uncle Bassam (Nadim Sawalha) is the show’s producer and creator. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: ‘Tel Aviv on Fire’ deliciously walks fine comedic line of Israeli-Palestinian conflict," 1 Aug. 2019 The practice stopped — current administrators aren’t sure when — and images of the totem poles are now seen as a bit of a problem. — Tad Vezner, Twin Cities, "Boys Totem Town officially closed: An old facility falls to a new philosophy in treating young offenders," 4 Aug. 2019 His depiction of Raven’s nose is drawn from what is depicted in Southeast Alaska Native totem poles and paintings, capturing an artistic style distinct to that part of the world. — David James, Anchorage Daily News, "These books will keep kids reading this summer - and discovering Alaska in the process," 6 July 2019 Sacrificing guys at the low end of the totem pole for the guys at the top. — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, "How to improve the NHL’s product? Dress more skaters," 20 July 2019 Eclectic items from the estate of Coachella Valley philanthropist Jim Houston will be sold off this weekend, including jade carvings, wooden totem poles and assorted snuff bottles. — Los Angeles Times, "Remembering Jonathan Gold a year after his death," 18 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'totem pole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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