stance

noun

ˈstan(t)s 

1

chiefly Scotland

a

: station

b

: site

2

a

: a way of standing or being placed : posture

b

: intellectual or emotional attitude

took an antiwar stance

3

a

: the position of the feet of a golfer or batter preparatory to making a swing

b

: the position of both body and feet from which an athlete starts or operates

Synonyms

• posture
• attitude

Examples of stance in a Sentence

a slightly aggressive stance

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite discussion on the law itself, the school board refrained from taking a stance for or against the proposal, instead deciding to seek guidance from Kentucky's attorney general on how best to enact policies to evaluate offers like the one from LifeWise. —Keely Doll, The Courier-Journal, 7 Aug. 2025

Despite the State Department's anti-cash stance, advocates see some reason for hope. —Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025

The California New Car Dealers Association has not taken a formal stance on whether the sticker program should be extended. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025

Still, Trump has shown himself to be unwilling to take a firm stance of defending Ukraine and sticking to it, giving Putin an incentive to wait out any threats. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English stance, staunce, from Middle French estance position, posture, stay, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *stantia, from Latin stant-, stans, present participle of stare to stand

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing stance

• closed stance
• open stance

Rhymes for stance

• chance
• dance
• glance
• hance
• hanse
• lance
• manse
• prance
• trance
• advance
• askance
• enhance

Kids Definition

stance

noun

ˈstan(t)s 

1

: a way of standing or being placed : posture

a soldier with an erect stance

2

: a way of thinking or feeling

took an opposing stance on the issue