position

Etymology

From Middle English posicioun, from Old French posicion, from Latin positio (“a putting, position”), from ponere, past participle positus (“to put, place”); see ponent. Compare apposition, composition, deposition; see pose.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pəˈzɪʃ.(ə)n/
• (General American) enPR: pə-zĭshʹ(ə)n, IPA^(key): /pəˈzɪʃ.(ə)n/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʃən
• Hyphenation (UK): po‧si‧tion, pos‧i‧tion, (US): po‧si‧tion

Noun

position (plural positions)

1. A place or location.

   Synonym: (obsolete) stead

   • 1960 December, “Talking of Trains: Recording Electric Operation”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 707:

     Train positions and speeds were established by a track magnet at each milepost, which produced a suitable mark on the punched recording tape whenever a train passed.

2. A post of employment; a job.
3. A status or rank.

   Chief of Staff is the second-highest position in the army.

4. An opinion, stand, or stance.

   My position on this issue is unchanged.

   • 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce:

     The cause therfore of divorce expres’t in the position cannot but agree with that describ’d in the best and equalest sense of Moses Law.

5. A posture.

   Stand in this position, with your arms at your side.

7. (figurative) A situation suitable to perform some action.

   The school is not in a position to provide day-care after 4:00 pm.

8. (team sports) A place on the playing field, together with a set of duties, assigned to a player.

   Stop running all over the field and play your position!

9. (finance) An amount of securities, commodities, or other financial instruments held by a person, firm, or institution.

   long position

   naked position

   • 2011, Brian Dolan, Currency Trading For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 253:

     For example, at 50:1 leverage, if you're holding a $100,000 position in USD/CHF, you'll need to have at least $2,000 of available margin to hold the position ([$100,000 ÷ 100] × 0.50 = $500).

10. (finance) A commitment, or a group of commitments, such as options or futures, to buy or sell a given amount of financial instruments, such as securities, currencies or commodities, for a given price.
11. (arithmetic) A method of solving a problem by one or two suppositions; also called the rule of trial and error.
12. (chess) The full state of a chess game at any given turn.
13. (poker) The order in which players are seated around the table.
14. (electronics) A pin; a connector.

Verb

position (third-person singular simple present positions, present participle positioning, simple past and past participle positioned)

1. To put into place.

   Troponym: pre-position

   • 2012 June 26, Simon Bowers, “Tax crackdowns threaten Channel Islands' haven status”, in The Guardian‎:

     While other small nations with large banking sectors, such as Iceland and Ireland, have been undone by their reckless lending practices, the debt-free Channel Islands have always positioned themselves as dependable repositories of riches.

Further reading

• “position”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “position”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• position (finance) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• position (geometry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• position (poker) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• sopition

Noun

position

1. genitive singular of positio

Etymology

Inherited from Old French posicion, borrowed from Latin positiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /po.zi.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

position f (plural positions)

1. position

Further reading

• “position”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔsɪˈɧuːn/
• (Light /ɧ/ variant) IPA^(key): [pɔsɪˈʂuːn]

  • Audio:

    (file)

Noun

position c

1. a place, a location, a position. A description of where something is located with respect to the surroundings, e.g. the satellites of the GPS system.
2. (team sports) a place on the playing field, together with a set of duties, assigned to a player.