place

[pleys] /pleɪs/
noun
1.
a particular portion of space, whether of definite or indefinite extent.
2.
space in general:
time and place.
3.
the specific portion of space normally occupied by anything:
The vase is in its place. Every item on the shelf had its place.
4.
a space, area, or spot, set apart or used for a particular purpose:
a place of worship; a place of entertainment.
5.
any part or spot in a body or surface:
a decayed place in a tree.
6.
a particular passage in a book or writing:
to find the place where one left off reading.
7.
a space or seat for a person, as in a theater, train, etc.:
Please save my place for me.
8.
position, situation, or circumstances:
I would complain if I were in your place.
9.
a proper or appropriate location or position:
A restaurant is not the place for an argument.
10.
a job, post, or office:
persons in high places.
11.
a function or duty:
It is not your place to offer criticism.
12.
proper sequence or relationship, as of ideas, details, etc.:
My thoughts began to fall into place.
13.
high position or rank:
aristocrats of power and place.
14.
a region or area:
to travel to distant places.
15.
an open space, or square, as in a city or town.
16.
a short street, a court, etc.
17.
a portion of space used for habitation, as a city, town, or village:
Trains rarely stop in that place anymore.
18.
a building, location, etc., set aside for a specific purpose:
He will soon need a larger place for his expanding business.
19.
a part of a building:
The kitchen is the sunniest place in the house.
20.
a residence, dwelling, or house:
Please come and have dinner at my place.
21.
lieu; substitution (usually followed by of):
Use yogurt in place of sour cream.
22.
a step or point in order of proceeding:
in the first place.
23.
a fitting or promising opportunity:
There's a place in this town for a man of his talents.
24.
a reasonable ground or occasion:
This is no place for such an outburst.
25.
Arithmetic.
  1. the position of a figure in a series, as in decimal notation.
  2. Usually, places. the figures of the series.
26.
Drama. one of the three unities.
Compare unity (def 8).
27.
Sports.
  1. a position among the leading competitors, usually the first, second, or third at the finish line.
  2. the position of the competitor who comes in second in a horse race, harness race, etc.
    Compare show (def 27), win1 (def 17).
28.
places, Theater. a call summoning performers for the beginning of a performance or an act.
29.
room or space for entry or passage:
to make place for the gentry.
verb (used with object), placed, placing.
30.
to put in the proper position or order; arrange; dispose:
Place the silverware on the table for dinner.
31.
to put or set in a particular place, position, situation, or relation.
32.
to put in a suitable place for some purpose:
to place an advertisement in the newspaper.
33.
to put into particular or proper hands:
to place some incriminating evidence with the district attorney.
34.
to give (an order or the like) to a supplier:
She placed the order for the pizza an hour ago.
35.
to appoint (a person) to a post or office:
The president placed him in the Department of Agriculture.
36.
to find a place, situation, etc., for (a person):
The agency had no trouble placing him with a good firm.
37.
to determine or indicate the place or value of:
to place health among the greatest gifts in life.
38.
to assign a certain position or rank to:
The army placed him in the infantry.
39.
to succeed in attaining a position for in an athletic or other contest:
to place players on the all-American team; to place students in the finals of the interscholastic chess tournament.
40.
to identify by connecting with the proper place, circumstances, etc.:
to be unable to place a person; to place a face; to place an accent.
41.
to employ (the voice) for singing or speaking with consciousness of the bodily point of emphasis of resonance of each tone or register.
verb (used without object), placed, placing.
42.
Sports.
  1. to finish among the first three competitors in a race.
  2. to finish second in a horse race, harness race, etc.
43.
to earn a specified standing with relation to others, as in an examination, competition, etc.:
He placed fifth in a graduation class of 90.
Idioms
44.
give place to,
  1. to give precedence or priority to:
    The old gives place to the new.
  2. to be succeeded or replaced by:
    Travel by trains has given place to travel by airplanes.
45.
go places, Informal. to succeed or advance in one's career:
He'll never go places if he stays in his hometown.
46.
in place,
  1. in the correct or usual position or order:
    Dinner is ready and everything is in place.
  2. in the same spot, without advancing or retreating:
    Stand by your desk and jog in place for a few minutes of exercise.
47.
know / keep one's place, to recognize one's position or rank, especially if inferior, and behave or act accordingly:
They treated their servants well but expected them always to know their place.
48.
out of place,
  1. not in the correct or usual position or order:
    The library books are all out of place.
  2. unsuitable to the circumstances or surroundings; inappropriate:
    He had always felt out of place in an academic environment. A green suit was out of place at the funeral.
49.
put someone in his / her place, to lower someone's self-esteem; humble, especially an arrogant person:
She put me in my place by reminding me who was boss.
50.
take place, to happen; occur:
The commencement exercises will take place outdoors unless it rains.
Origin
before 950; (noun) Middle English, conflation of Old English plæce and Middle French place, both < Latin platea, variant of platēa street, courtyard, area < Greek plateîa broad street, noun use of feminine of platýs broad, flat1; (v.) late Middle English, derivative of the noun; see platy-
Related forms
placeable, adjective
placeless, adjective
placelessly, adverb
preplace, verb (used with object), preplaced, preplacing.
unplaced, adjective
well-placed, adjective
Synonyms
1. location, locale, locality, site. 10. rank, employment. See position. 11. charge, responsibility. 14. section, sector. 30. situate, station. See put. 32. locate, set, deposit, lay, seat. 35. hire.
Examples from the web for place
  • Have students go back to their descriptions of another location and decide if they described the location or the place.
  • Look to your left into the kitchen as you place your order and you will see a big white mound of masa.
  • This report is solidly positive for the economy: bit by bit the pieces of recovery are falling into place.
  • The study is novelistic in its revelation of character and sense of place.
  • Our sense of self is intimately entwined with that of place.
  • The mesh and a wood backing holds the soil in place.
  • It is an unbelievably beautiful place.
  • We wanted to place the tables side by side and visually unify them as one piece.
  • This place is magical.
  • Choosing a place to land on Mars should be easy.
British Dictionary definitions for place

place

/pleɪs/
noun
1.
a particular point or part of space or of a surface, esp that occupied by a person or thing
2.
a geographical point, such as a town, city, etc
3.
a position or rank in a sequence or order
4.
  1. an open square lined with houses of a similar type in a city or town
  2. (capital when part of a street name): Grosvenor Place
5.
space or room
6.
a house or living quarters
7.
a country house with grounds
8.
any building or area set aside for a specific purpose
9.
a passage in a book, play, film, etc: to lose one's place
10.
proper or appropriate position or time: he still thinks a woman's place is in the home
11.
right or original position: put it back in its place
12.
suitable, appropriate, or customary surroundings (esp in the phrases out of place, in place)
13.
right, prerogative, or duty: it is your place to give a speech
14.
appointment, position, or job: a place at college
15.
position, condition, or state: if I were in your place
16.
  1. a space or seat, as at a dining table
  2. (as modifier): place mat
17.
(maths) the relative position of a digit in a number See also decimal place
18.
any of the best times in a race
19.
(horse racing)
  1. (Brit) the first, second, or third position at the finish
  2. (US & Canadian) the first or usually the second position at the finish
  3. (as modifier): a place bet
20.
(theatre) one of the three unities See unity (sense 8)
21.
(archaic) an important position, rank, or role
22.
all over the place, in disorder or disarray
23.
(Brit, parliamentary procedure) another place
  1. (in the House of Commons) the House of Lords
  2. (in the House of Lords) the House of Commons
24.
give place to someone, to make room for or be superseded by someone
25.
(informal) go places
  1. to travel
  2. to become successful
26.
in place of
  1. instead of; in lieu of: go in place of my sister
  2. in exchange for: he gave her it in place of her ring
27.
know one's place, to be aware of one's inferior position
28.
pride of place, the highest or foremost position
29.
put someone in his place, to humble someone who is arrogant, conceited, forward, etc
30.
take one's place, to take up one's usual or specified position
31.
take the place of, to be a substitute for
32.
take place, to happen or occur
33.
(facetious) the other place
  1. (at Oxford University) Cambridge University
  2. (at Cambridge University) Oxford University
verb (mainly transitive)
34.
to put or set in a particular or appropriate place
35.
to find or indicate the place of
36.
to identify or classify by linking with an appropriate context: to place a face
37.
to regard or view as being: to place prosperity above sincerity
38.
to make (an order, a bet, etc)
39.
to find a home or job for (someone)
40.
to appoint to an office or position
41.
(often foll by with) to put under the care (of)
42.
to direct or aim carefully
43.
(passive) (Brit) to cause (a racehorse, greyhound, athlete, etc) to arrive in first, second, third, or sometimes fourth place
44.
(intransitive) (US & Canadian) (of a racehorse, greyhound, etc) to finish among the first three in a contest, esp in second position
45.
to invest (funds)
46.
to sing (a note) with accuracy of pitch
47.
to insert (an advertisement) in a newspaper, journal, etc
Word Origin
C13: via Old French from Latin platēa courtyard, from Greek plateia, from platus broad; compare French plat flat

Place

/pleɪs/
noun
1.
Francis. 1771–1854, British radical, who campaigned for the repeal (1824) of the Combination Acts, which forbade the forming of trade unions, and for parliamentary reform
Word Origin and History for place
n.

c.1200, "space, dimensional extent, room, area," from Old French place "place, spot" (12c.) and directly from Medieval Latin placea "place, spot," from Latin platea "courtyard, open space; broad way, avenue," from Greek plateia (hodos) "broad (way)," fem. of platys "broad" (see plaice).

Replaced Old English stow and stede. From mid-13c. as "particular part of space, extent, definite location, spot, site;" from early 14c. as "position or place occupied by custom, etc.; position on some social scale;" from late 14c. as "inhabited place, town, country," also "place on the surface of something, portion of something, part," also, "office, post." Meaning "group of houses in a town" is from 1580s.

Also from the same Latin source are Italian piazza, Catalan plassa, Spanish plaza, Middle Dutch plaetse, Dutch plaats, German Platz, Danish plads, Norwegian plass. Wide application in English covers meanings that in French require three words: place, lieu, and endroit. Cognate Italian piazza and Spanish plaza retain more of the etymological sense.

To take place "happen" is from mid-15c. To know (one's) place is from c.1600; hence figurative expression put (someone) in his or her place (1855). Place of worship attested from 1689, originally in official papers and in reference to assemblies of dissenters from the Church of England. All over the place "in disorder" is attested from 1923.

v.

mid-15c., "to determine the position of;" also "to put (something somewhere)," from place (n.). In the horse racing sense of "to achieve a certain position" (usually in the top three finishers; in U.S., specifically second place) it is first attested 1924, from earlier meaning "to state the position of" (among the first three finishers), 1826. Related: Placed; placing. To take place "to happen, be accomplished" (mid-15c., earlier have place, late 14c.), translates French avoir lieu.

Slang definitions & phrases for place

place

Related Terms

noplaceville


place in Technology


Programming Language for Automatic Checkout Equipment.
["The Compiler for the Programming Language for Automatic Checkout Equipment (PLACE)", AFAPL TR-68-27, Battelle Inst, Columbus, May 1968].

Idioms and Phrases with place

place

In addition to the idiom beginning with
place
also see: