position

[puh-zish-uh n] /pəˈzɪʃ ən/
noun
1.
condition with reference to place; location; situation.
2.
a place occupied or to be occupied; site:
a fortified position.
3.
the proper, appropriate, or usual place:
out of position.
4.
situation or condition, especially with relation to favorable or unfavorable circumstances:
to be in an awkward position; to bargain from a position of strength.
5.
status or standing:
He has a position to maintain in the community.
6.
high standing, as in society; important status:
a person of wealth and position.
7.
a post of employment:
a position in a bank.
8.
manner of being placed, disposed, or arranged:
the relative position of the hands of a clock.
9.
bodily posture or attitude:
to be in a sitting position.
10.
mental attitude; stand:
one's position on a controversial topic.
11.
the act of positing.
12.
something that is posited.
13.
Ballet. any of the five basic positions of the feet with which every step or movement begins and ends.
Compare first position, second position, third position, fourth position, fifth position.
14.
Music.
  1. the arrangement of tones in a chord, especially with regard to the location of the root tone in a triad or to the distance of the tones from each other.
    Compare close position, inversion (def 8a), open position, root position.
  2. any of the places on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument where the fingers stop the strings to produce the variouspitches.
  3. any of the places to which the slide of a trombone is shifted to produce changes in pitch.
15.
Finance. a commitment to buy or sell securities:
He took a large position in defense stocks.
16.
Classical Prosody. the situation of a short vowel before two or more consonants or their equivalent, making the syllable metrically long.
verb (used with object)
17.
to put in a particular or appropriate position; place.
18.
to determine the position of; locate.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English posicioun a positing (< Anglo-French) < Latin positiōn- (stem of positiō) a placing, etc. See posit, -ion
Related forms
positional, adjective
positionless, adjective
misposition, verb (used with object)
well-positioned, adjective
Synonyms
2. station, locality, spot. 5. rank. 7. Position, job, place, situation refer to a post of employment. Position is any employment, though usually above manual labor: a position as clerk. Job is colloquial for position, and applies to any work from lowest to highest in an organization: a job as cook, as manager. Place and situation are both mainly used today in reference to a position that is desired or being applied for; situation is the general word in the business world: Situations Wanted; place is used rather of domestic employment: He is looking for a place as a gardener. 8. placement, disposition, array, arrangement. 9. Position, posture, attitude, pose refer to an arrangement or disposal of the body or its parts. Position is the general word for the arrangement of the body: in a reclining position. Posture is usually an assumed arrangement of the body, especially when standing: a relaxed posture. Attitude is often a posture assumed for imitative effect or the like, but may be one adopted for a purpose (as that of a fencer or a tightrope walker): an attitude of prayer. A pose is an attitude assumed, in most cases, for artistic effect: an attractive pose. 12. proposition, hypothesis, postulate, thesis; dictum, assertion, predication, contention; doctrine, principle. 17. situate.
Examples from the web for position
  • They may feel the brunt of their position, but one may liken them to the proverbial mouse in the maze: they lack the aerial view.
  • Roll back to the starting position.
  • The position of the liver varies according to the posture of the body.
  • Pull out the free end of the pump's power cord; position so it exits the bucket through the cut notch.
  • I'm taking care of my honor and my position in English society.
  • Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
  • The position is renewable subject to need and excellence in performance.
  • Raab said she has heard from several interested people and thinks she will be able to “move quickly” to fill the position.
  • If you have been shooting from the same position, try something else.
  • It made a tentative move and examined the new position from the standpoint of its previously tested criteria.
British Dictionary definitions for position

position

/pəˈzɪʃən/
noun
1.
the place, situation, or location of a person or thing: he took up a position to the rear
2.
the appropriate or customary location: the telescope is in position for use
3.
the arrangement or disposition of the body or a part of the body: the corpse was found in a sitting position
4.
the manner in which a person or thing is placed; arrangement
5.
(military) an area or point occupied for tactical reasons
6.
mental attitude; point of view; stand: what's your position on this issue?
7.
social status or standing, esp high social standing
8.
a post of employment; job
9.
the act of positing a fact or viewpoint
10.
something posited, such as an idea, proposition, etc
11.
(sport) the part of a field or playing area where a player is placed or where he generally operates
12.
(music)
  1. the vertical spacing or layout of the written notes in a chord. Chords arranged with the three upper voices close together are in close position. Chords whose notes are evenly or widely distributed are in open position See also root position
  2. one of the points on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument, determining where a string is to be stopped
13.
(in classical prosody)
  1. the situation in which a short vowel may be regarded as long, that is, when it occurs before two or more consonants
  2. make position, (of a consonant, either on its own or in combination with other consonants, such as x in Latin) to cause a short vowel to become metrically long when placed after it
14.
(finance) the market commitment of a dealer in securities, currencies, or commodities: a long position, a short position
15.
(foll by an infinitive) in a position, able (to): I'm not in a position to reveal these figures
verb (transitive)
16.
to put in the proper or appropriate place; locate
17.
(sport) to place (oneself or another player) in a particular part of the field or playing area
18.
to put (someone or something) in a position (esp in relation to others) that confers a strategic advantage: he's trying to position himself for a leadership bid
19.
(marketing) to promote (a product or service) by tailoring it to the needs of a specific market or by clearly differentiating it from its competitors (e.g. in terms of price or quality)
20.
(rare) to locate or ascertain the position of
Derived Forms
positional, adjective
Word Origin
C15: from Late Latin positiō a positioning, affirmation, from pōnere to place, lay down
Word Origin and History for position
n.

late 14c., as a term in logic and philosophy, from Old French posicion "position, supposition" (Modern French position), from Latin positionem (nominative positio) "act or fact of placing, situation, position, affirmation," noun of state from past participle stem of ponere "put, place," from PIE *po-s(i)nere, from *apo- "off, away" (see apo-) + *sinere "to leave, let" (see site).

Meaning "proper place occupied by a person or thing" is from 1540s. Meaning "manner in which some physical thing is arranged or posed" first recorded 1703; specifically in reference to dance steps, 1778, sexual intercourse, 1883. Meaning "official station, employment" is from 1890.

v.

1670s, "to assume a position (intransitive), from position (n.). Transitive sense of "to put in a particular position" is recorded from 1817. Related: Positioned; positioning.

position in Medicine

position po·si·tion (pə-zĭsh'ən)
n.

  1. A place occupied.

  2. A bodily attitude or posture, especially a posture assumed by a patient to facilitate the performance of diagnostic, surgical, or therapeutic procedures.

  3. The relation of an arbitrarily chosen portion of the fetus to the right or left side of the mother.

position v.
po·si'tion·al adj.
Encyclopedia Article for position

in Greek or Latin prosody, the condition of having a short vowel followed by two consonants or a double consonant (such as -pp- in the Greek word hippos), which makes its syllable long. Such a syllable is said to be long by position, in contrast to a syllable having a long vowel or a diphthong, which is said to be long by nature.

Learn more about position with a free trial on Britannica.com