position

noun

po·si·tion | \ pə-ˈzi-shən

Definition of position

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an act of placing or arranging: such as

a : the laying down of a proposition or thesis

b : an arranging in order

2 : a point of view adopted and held to made my position on the issue clear

3a : the point or area occupied by a physical object : location took her position at the head of the line

b : a certain arrangement of bodily parts rose to a standing position

4 : a market commitment in securities or commodities also : the inventory of a market trader

5a : relative place, situation, or standing is now in a position to make decisions on his own

b : social or official rank or status

c : an employment for which one has been hired : job a position with a brokerage firm

d : a situation that confers advantage or preference

position

verb

positioned; positioning\ pə-ˈzi-sh(ə-)niŋ

Definition of position (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to put in a certain position positioned the chairs around the room positioned the company in the global market

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Examples of position in a Sentence

Noun

From this position, you can see all of New York City's skyline. Actors, please assume your positions. The show is about to begin. The child fell asleep in a sitting position. I was in an uncomfortable position and had to move. I was uncomfortable, so I shifted position. Return your seat to an upright position for landing.

Verb

He positioned the chairs around the table. The company is positioning itself to take advantage of a new market. The shortstop was positioned well to make the play. She positioned herself by the door.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

For instance, the Kepler telescope discovered thousands of exoplanets by noticing tiny changes in the position of stars caused when their planets’ gravity tugs them around. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "New Method For Studying Exoplanets Could Tell Us Far More About Alien Worlds," 29 Mar. 2019 Bake, rotating positions of baking sheets halfway through, until cookies are light golden brown around edges, 10 to 12 minutes. — The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping, "Easy Vanilla Sugar Cookies That'll Bring Spring Cheer to Your Holiday Table," 27 Mar. 2019 Adam Topkis, who held the position on an interim basis until Ms. Tejada was hired, has taken on a new role as head of conduct management, according to a company spokeswoman. — Patrick Thomas, WSJ, "Wells Fargo Hires Strategic Enterprise Risk Chief," 4 Mar. 2019 Abramson was dismissed from The New York Times in 2014 after less than three years as executive editor — the first woman to hold that position. — Nicole Brodeur, The Seattle Times, "Jill Abramson is dealing with every journalist’s biggest nightmare," 20 Feb. 2019 Reggie ended up in the best position at the end of all of this, at least in the eyes of Veronica. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Who Shot Hiram? A Look at All of the Possible Suspects on "Riverdale"," 24 Jan. 2019 In the span of two weeks, Trump has held every position on this portion of government spending. — Tara Golshan, Vox, "This could be a really long government shutdown," 21 Dec. 2018 Over time, the industry veteran held virtually every position within Marvel Comics—writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor, and perhaps most notably, president and chairman. — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, "Legendary Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee has died," 12 Nov. 2018 Divide among tart shells and bake until set, rotating positions of sheets on racks halfway through, 20 to 25 minutes. — The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping, "Ruby Red Grapefruit Tartlets," 8 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Ever since Trump won the Republican nomination, Ward writes, Ivanka has been positioning herself as his heir. — Emma Dibdin, Town & Country, "Does Ivanka Trump Really Want to Be President Someday?," 19 Mar. 2019 Hutchins was then able to position Mila properly for the landing. — Char Adams, PEOPLE.com, "United Airlines Apologizes After Mom Claims Staff Forced Baby to Sit in 'Dangerous' Position," 13 June 2018 Alex chatted with Ohad Zeira, the guy leading 72-year-old Avis’ bid to position itself for a new role in a new world. — Alex Davies, WIRED, "This Week in the Future of Cars: Money Money Money Moneyyy!," 3 June 2018 Leaving Paris probably won’t save coal Trump has positioned his Paris decision as a way to save the ailing U.S. coal industry. — Zack Colman, Scientific American, "What Has Changed—and What Has Not—Since Paris Withdrawal Announcement," 1 June 2018 These deals position major players to transition to a system based on value of care versus the volume of services — a system that better aligns with what consumers have come to expect from their health care experience. — Thad Kresho, STAT, "The health care industry is being transformed, one deal at a time," 25 May 2018 Fox, positioned stage-left, played the role of Carol Vorderman, flipping through a rack of numbers. — A-LIST, "Social Light: Inside The Old Vic Theatre’s Bicentenary Gala," 15 May 2018 Home to the province’s elite, the royal mansion was positioned at its core. — Tara Knight, The Root, "Beyond the Blue," 13 May 2018 With her novel, Rivera is positioning young Latinx characters in a role that has typically not been theirs in popular culture: the heroes and heroines of sci-fi fantasies. — Anne Branigin, Teen Vogue, "The Lit Bar Is the Bronx's New Bookstore Putting the Community First," 27 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'position.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for position

Noun

Middle English posycion, from Anglo-French posicioun, from Latin position-, positio, from ponere to lay down, put, place, from Old Latin *posinere, from po- away (akin to Old Church Slavonic po-, perfective prefix, Greek apo away) + Latin sinere to leave — more at of

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Dictionary Entries near position

Statistics for position

Last Updated

12 Apr 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for position

The first known use of position was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for position

position

noun

English Language Learners Definition of position

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the place where someone or something is in relation to other people or things

: the place where someone or something should be

: the way someone stands, sits, or lies down

position

verb

English Language Learners Definition of position (Entry 2 of 2)

: to put (something or someone) in a particular position

See the full definition for position in the English Language Learners Dictionary

position

noun

po·si·tion | \ pə-ˈzi-shən

Kids Definition of position

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the way in which something or someone is placed or arranged The seat is in the upright position.

2 : a way of looking at or considering things What's your position on the issue?

3 : the place where a person or thing is or should be They took their positions on stage.

4 : the situation that someone or something is in Your request puts me in an awkward position.

5 : the rank or role a person has in an organization or in society She rose to a position of leadership.

6 : job sense 1

position

verb

positioned; positioning

Kids Definition of position (Entry 2 of 2)

: to put in a particular place or arrangement He positioned the helmet on his head.

position

noun

po·si·tion | \ pə-ˈzish-ən

Medical Definition of position

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a particular arrangement or location specifically : an arrangement of the parts of the body considered particularly desirable for some medical or surgical procedure knee-chest position the prone position