a long pole that supports a tent and keeps it upright(= standing up):
We stock both lightweight and traditional wooden tent poles.
tent-poleadjective[before noun]
uk/ˈtentˌpəʊl//ˈtentˌpoʊl/mainly USinformal
a tent-pole event, movie, etc. is one that is expected to make a lot of money, and also to help persuade people to spend money on products connected with it:
This is the time of the year that studios release their tent-pole movie.