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position

Syllabification: (po·si·tion)
Pronunciation: /pəˈziSHən/
Translate position | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of position

noun

  • 1a place where someone or something is located or has been put:the distress call had given the ship’s position Mrs. Snell had taken up her position on the bottom step of the stairs
  • the location where someone or something should be; the correct place:the lid was put into position and screwed down make sure that no slates have slipped out of position
  • (often positions) a place where part of a military force is posted for strategic purposes:the guns were shelling the German positions
  • 2a particular way in which someone or something is placed or arranged:he moved himself into a reclining position a cramp forced her to change position
  • in a game of chess, the configuration of the pieces and pawns on the board at any point.
  • Music a particular location of the hand on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument:be familiar with the first six positions across the four strings
  • Music a particular location of the slide of a trombone.
  • Music the arrangement of the constituent notes of a chord.
  • 3a situation or set of circumstances, especially one that affects one’s power to act:the company’s financial position is grim [with infinitive]:we felt we were not in a position to judge the merits of the case
  • a job:she retired from her position as marketing director
  • the state of being placed where one has an advantage over one’s rivals in a competitive situation:his successors were already jockeying for position
  • a person’s place or rank in relation to others, especially in a competitive situation:he made up ground to finish in second position
  • high rank or social standing:a woman of supposed wealth and position
  • (in team games) a set of functions considered as the responsibility of a particular player based on the location in which they play:it gives every player a chance to play every fielding position
  • 4a person’s particular point of view or attitude toward something:I’ll never accept his position on censorship
  • 5an investor’s net holdings in one or more markets at a particular time; the status of an individual or institutional trader’s open contracts:traders were covering short positions
  • 6 Logic a proposition laid down or asserted; a tenet or assertion.

verb

[with object]
  • put or arrange (someone or something) in a particular place or way:he pulled out a chair and positioned it between them she positioned herself on a bench
  • promote (a product, service, or business) within a particular sector of a market, or as the fulfillment of that sector’s specific requirements:a comprehensive development plan that will position the city as a major economic force in the region
  • portray or regard (someone) as a particular type of person:I had positioned her as my antagonist

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin positio(n-), from ponere 'to place'. The current sense of the verb dates from the early 19th century

position in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of position in the British & World English dictionary