Definition

1. Noun:

   • A place or location: The specific point or area where someone or something is located or has been placed.
   • A job or role: A particular function or post within an organization or system.
   • A situation or circumstance: The set of conditions or facts affecting someone at a particular time.
   • A point of view or attitude: A person's opinion or stance on a particular issue.
   • A place in a sequence or ranking: A person's or thing's place in an ordered list, competition, or hierarchy.
   • The way someone holds their body: The posture or arrangement of the body and its limbs.

2. Verb:

   • To place or arrange: To put something or someone in a particular place or situation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Please check the position of the furniture on the diagram. (Location)
  • She applied for a management position at the new company. (Job/Role)
  • His rude comments put me in an awkward position. (Situation)
  • What is your position on the proposed tax changes? (Opinion/Stance)
  • Our team finished in third position. (Ranking)
  • The yoga instructor corrected my position. (Posture)

• Verb:

  • You need to position the sensor near the window for accurate readings.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in a position to do something": To have the ability, authority, or right to do something.

  • After the promotion, she was in a position to influence company policy.

• "Jockey for position": To try to get an advantage over others, especially in a competitive situation.

  • Several candidates are jockeying for position ahead of the election.

• "In a position of strength/weakness": In a situation where one has a lot of or very little power, advantage, or control.

  • Negotiating from a position of strength often yields better results.

Variants and Related Words

• Positional (adj): Relating to or determined by position.

  • The game involves positional strategy on the board.

• Reposition (v): To place in a different position.

  • The company decided to reposition its brand to attract younger customers.

Synonyms

• Location (n): A particular place or position.
• Post (n): A job or official position, especially one involving public service or duty.
• Stance (n): A person's attitude or standpoint on an issue.
• Place (v/n): To put in a particular location; a particular point or area in space.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Position oneself as: To present or establish oneself in a particular role or category.
  • The candidate positioned herself as an outsider who would fight corruption.

Related Idioms

• In no position to: Not having the ability, right, or authority to do something.

  • I'm in no position to criticize; I've made similar mistakes myself.

• The position of the day: The main topic of discussion or focus at a particular time.

  • Climate change is the position of the day at the international summit.

Noun

1. the act of positing; an assumption taken as a postulate or axiom
2. the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another
   • can you go in my stead?
   • took his place
   • in lieu of
3. an item on a list or in a sequence
   • in the second place
   • moved from third to fifth position
4. an opinion that is held in opposition to another in an argument or dispute
   • there are two sides to every question
5. a rationalized mental attitude
6. a condition or position in which you find yourself
   • the unpleasant situation (or position) of having to choose between two evils
   • found herself in a very fortunate situation
7. the act of putting something in a certain place
8. (in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player
   • what position does he play?
9. the appropriate or customary location
   • the cars were in position
10. the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated
    • the position of the hands on the clock
    • he specified the spatial relations of every piece of furniture on the stage
11. a job in an organization
    • he occupied a post in the treasury
12. the relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a society
    • he had the status of a minor
    • the novel attained the status of a classic
    • atheists do not enjoy a favorable position in American life
13. the arrangement of the body and its limbs
    • he assumed an attitude of surrender
14. a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
    • consider what follows from the positivist view
15. a point occupied by troops for tactical reasons
16. the particular portion of space occupied by something
    • he put the lamp back in its place

Verb

1. put into a certain place or abstract location
   • Put your things here
   • Set the tray down
   • Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children
   • Place emphasis on a certain point
2. cause to be in an appropriate place, state, or relation