Also means
goalpost
Usage Note
Poteau most commonly means a wooden or metal post (a fence post, a telegraph pole). In football, le poteau is the goalpost. The plural follows the regular -eau pattern: des poteaux. In informal speech, mon vieux poteau can affectionately mean 'my old pal'.
Examples
"Le ballon a frappé le poteau."
Natural Translation
The ball hit the post.

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