stance

play

noun \ ˈstan(t)s \

Definition of stance

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

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Recent Examples of stance from the Web

Chris Forsberg at ESPN.com writes the Celtics should take a hard stance and not offer anything else for Kyrie Irving.

— john smallwood, Philly.com, "Sports Tonight: If only the Phillies could always play Atlanta," 29 Aug. 2017
Diana's support for an international treaty banning landmines—and her public work with groups seeking to eradicate them—was seen at the time as a political stance, not merely a charitable one.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Why Princess Diana's Fight Against Landmines Was So Groundbreaking," 18 Aug. 2017
But despite their lineage, the two great grandsons are taking a strong stance against memorializing their great grandfather in an open letter published by Slate late Wednesday night.

— bernadette deron, Esquire, "Now Stonewall Jackson's Great Grandsons Want His Monument Taken Down," 17 Aug. 2017
In her latest collection for Stance, Rihanna is bringing back four of her most notable looks from years past, reprinted on, well, socks, according to WWD.

— halie lesavage, Glamour, "Relive Rihanna's Most Memorable Fashion Moments With These Instantly-Iconic Socks," 16 Aug. 2017
The stance while blocking puts significant stress on the lower back, and this can result in an injury to the disc or a stress fracture.

— dr. harlan selesnick, miamiherald, "Teen’s football blocking is hurting his back. Is it serious?," 14 Aug. 2017
Nonetheless, the Planning Advisory Board's stance on rejecting the Perryman rezoning request was welcomed.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Harford planning board nixes big industrial rezoning request, supports most others," 10 Aug. 2017
Pence, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who was the White House’s point person on health care, was reportedly supposed to be monitoring Mike Lee’s stance on the legislation.

— vanityfair.com, "Mike Pence’s Master Plan Goes Up in Smoke," 20 July 2017
Microsoft’s Clover Trail stance sets limits on what those previous generations can expect.

— mark hachman, PCWorld, "Confirmed: Windows 10 may cut off devices with older CPUs," 20 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of stance

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

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stance Synonyms

Synonyms

attitude, carriage, poise, posture, station

Related Words

attention; body language; pose, seat; bearing, behavior, conduct, demeanor, deportment; air, poise, presence; aspect, look, mien

STANCE Defined for English Language Learners

stance

play

noun

Definition of stance for English Language Learners

: a publicly stated opinion
: a way of standing

STANCE Defined for Kids

stance

play

noun \ ˈstans \

Definition of stance for Students

:way of standing :posture

… he positioned my body for the perfect ski stance.
—Ann M. Martin, Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation

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stance

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