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 of stance

• posture
• attitude

Examples of stance in a Sentence

a slightly aggressive stance

Recent Examples on the Web

Calling affordability a multilayered crisis, Newsom is expected to signal a tougher stance toward the buying spree of homes by private equity and institutional investors in California. —Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026

His anti-union stance caused city employees to work without new contracts or raises for several years. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026

Threets says that being an author hasn’t changed his stance on book censorship, even as incidents continue to rise. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026

Kennedy has in particular made skepticism toward antidepressants for adolescents a centerpiece of his public health agenda, even claiming that antidepressants may be harder to quit than heroin — a stance that ignores decades of evidence about their safety and efficacy. —Stephen B. Soumerai, STAT, 7 Jan. 2026

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