1A place where someone or something is located or has been put.

1. 1.1mass noun The correct location of someone or something.
   sew the band into position

   make sure that no slates have slipped out of position

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The modules are delivered to site by road where they are craned into position in only a few days ready for fitting out.
   • The guards got into position behind each pillar that stood defiantly around the room.
   • I had the parcel on the ground, and waited for ages, edging gradually into position, when it arrived.
   • It broke under the weight as it was being hauled into position.
   • Alex poured another glass of whiskey and watched the new chunks of ice settle into position.
   • The big man moved into the room like a big cat moving into position before it leaped.
   • As they aged, the extension mirror adjustment began to slip out of position on bumpy roads.
   • About that time, volunteers began rolling the carts of food into position to serve.
   • Place the automatic drain valves into position at the end of the run and branches.
   • I was the only tourist there, sharing the site with restoration workers moving fallen blocks back into position.
   • The rib was then raised into position, and pulled sideways to connect to the dovetails on the cross supports.
   • On a team filled with players who are out of position or out of place, pitching was supposed to be a strength.
   • Place the template into position on the cabinet top or back and outline the duct hole.
   • The football players then returned to the middle of the field and got into position again.
   • Every night she'd come up and turn herself into position, put her head down on my chest and purr.
   • Conditions were good on the river despite hailstorms blowing over London while the boats were getting into position.
   • The panel is moved to its final location in the building and lowered into position.
   • Everybody is going away to think about what the best way is to manoeuvre the cross into position.
   • It's an enormous problem, you see, getting all that cat into position in such a small space.
   • Brian, in turn, cut his spot into a corner pocket and moved the black into position for an easy win.

   Synonyms

   location, place, situation, spot, site, locality, locale, scene, setting, area, point
2. 1.2often positions A place where part of a military force is posted for strategic purposes.
   the guns were shelling the German positions

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The attacks coincided with Afghan opposition forces shelling enemy positions in the strategic northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
   • Around Karbala, Iraqi defenders pounded suspected military positions in the ancient town.
   • Use of the special forces depends on Pakistani intelligence about military positions.
   • I propose that we send men in through the tunnel to take up strategic positions under the city.
   • As in the vignette above, the enemy established ambush positions to hit our convoys moving north into zone.
   • The Rangers were to infiltrate enemy lines and take up blocking positions in the Irsch-Zerf road and prevent German forces from using it.
   • Behind them lay old defensive military positions, trenches used two weeks ago by the Iraqi army.
   • Finally, sand mixed with archeological fragments has been used to fill sandbags intended for protecting military positions.
   • However for much of their empire they allowed Hindus to reach senior government or military positions.
   • We sped through the desert past miles of abandoned Iraqi military positions and deserting Iraqi soldiers on our way to Kirkuk.
   • The French sent their bombers in at night to attack military positions and border towns while avoiding Thai aircraft.
   • It was one of the strongest natural defensive positions in military history, with the monastery, like some great all-seeing eye, peering down on everything.
   • A framed map of military positions dominates the wall.
   • Sources said the guerillas had suffered heavy casualties too as the military pounded rebel positions with artillery barrages.
   • Other targets would include Pakistani artillery positions, strategic bridges, logistics bases and military supply routes.
   • Others skirted the edge of the underbrush, and took up ambush positions around the forces of the government.
   • Has it occurred to anyone that a US military force's field positions might be covertly mapped by an opposing force with the foresight to invest in a pie-tin and an RFID reader?
   • In this situation, dismounted OPs placed in front of covered positions can detect enemy forces.
   • The government army launched a series of air raids against positions held by the Force Nouvelle.
   • Within the disputed border region, military forces from the neighboring state continue to consolidate their positions.

2A particular way in which someone or something is placed or arranged.

1. 2.1 The configuration of the pieces and pawns on the board at any point in a game of chess.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • If a grandmaster puts himself in a checkable position in chess, is it less serious?
   • He rearranged the game pieces to their positions and placed two dice in Arjun's hand.
   • I tire of beginning each chess game with the pieces in the same positions, and having to make several moves before the game becomes original.
   • In the endgame, the Bishop pair is particularly superior in positions with pawns on both sides of the board.
   • I am often asked questions about criteria used to evaluate chess positions.
   • As they proceed, games typically decompose into smaller collections of pieces - or positions.
   • He must sit and watch as Black funnels his pieces into good positions.
   • In this book, Silman shares the actual thought processes of his students as they worked on typical chess positions.
   • In our first game, White went for a position with doubled pawns in order to obtain a pair of Bishops.
   • For example a chess position would be given and a question mark would be on one of the squares.
   • Generally speaking, a Bishop is preferred over a Knight in open positions with pawns on both sides of the board.
   • They might try to stay sharp by a combination of playing training games and analyzing positions.
   • In the second, Shirov gained a pawn but the position was not good enough to help him level the score.
   • It can analyze 200 million chess positions in a single second.
   • De Groot showed that being an expert in chess does not improve one's memory for randomized chess positions.
   • White had more space and started a pawn roller on the kingside in front of her castled position.
   • Black is continuing to improve his pieces' positions before the upcoming decisive blow.
   • With central and bishop pawns, practically all positions with a remote king are lost.
   • What the better players had remembered, in other words, was not so much the positions of the chess pieces but the overall situations.
   • I've done so much work in the past on this defense that I feel confident in my ability to work positions out at the board.
2. 2.2Music A particular location of the hand on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument.
   be familiar with the first six positions across the four strings

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Students can view their hand positions, posture and essentially take each lesson home with them for review.
   • In addition, an animated instrument displays the exact notes to be played, highlighting correct keys or fingering positions.
   • As his memorized finger positions formed he lifted his head and began to sing, focusing on the crowd in front of him, it was larger than what they were used to yet it didn't seem that intimidating now.
3. 2.3Music The arrangement of the constituent notes of a chord.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • While one positive aspect of this approach is that it lends itself to positions other than middle C, therein also lies the problem.
   • Finger positions can be marked for the suggested fingering of the chord.
   • Each position is diagrammed, and the first new finger number is circled on the staff.

3A situation, especially as it affects one's power to act.

1. 3.1mass noun The state of being placed where one has an advantage over one's rivals or competitors.
   sleek motor launches jostled for position

   Example sentencesExamples

   • In that case, the Government will be in a more advantageous position as a huge amount can be collected in tax.
   • They did this by making them hungry and impressing the club's secondary position to their rivals.
   • With some precautions, women can regain their advantageous position in the healthy heart race.
   • Did we realise what damage this might do to their competitive position?
   • It aims to be an objective assessment of Scotland's competitive position in a global context.
   • So, I decided to take advantage of my position and take the time I had to work.
   • After all, they were on the offensive and had a very advantageous position in the dying minutes of the game.
   • It is very important to be as high as possible for the start to have an edge in position on your competitors.
   • She hastens to bolster her position and take advantage of his startled acceptance.
   • That depresses wage rates and rents, and brings us back to a more competitive position.
   • Competing interests have begun jostling for position with an eye to any endgame.
   • The United States will retain its advantageous position for the next 20 or 30 years.
   • Judging by the election results, they seem to have taken full advantage of their position.
   • This is an emerging market, with competitors fighting for position, so it could be fatal if the firm were to take its eye off the ball now.
   • I was right there and in perfect position to take advantage of the thermal.
   • The organisation said the pay rises were a concern and a threat to the economy's competitive position.
   • What all of this tends to suggest is that we need much deeper and more refined analysis of the Irish competitive position.
   • As ever, the advantage of this position is the opportunity that it provides to view both sides of the debate.
   • Those of us, who are in a more advantageous position, know how bad the situation is.
   • The ones who know they don't trust may actually be in a more advantageous position.

   Synonyms

   advantage, pole position, advantageous position, favourable position, the upper hand, the edge, the whip hand, primacy

   North American informal the catbird seat

   Australian/New Zealand informal the box seat
2. 3.2 A person's place or level of importance in relation to others.
   he made up ground to finish in second position

   Example sentencesExamples

   • But this race was all about Fernandez and from his leading position he was not going to allow Hartl get within striking distance of his direct trip to the semi-final.
   • What seems to remain the same, however, is that men retain their monopoly of positions involving power and authority.
   • I am now considering my options in relation to my position in the Labour party.
   • He considered the position of women in his society as a form of slavery.
   • Now the whole social situation, including the position of women, has become more complex.
   • When it comes to the interviewees' relative positions on the status scales, the interviewer was, in fact, blind.
   • Everyone wants to play for each other, but we're all in different positions at club level, so some will be out to prove a point
   • How should a writer determine his/her position in relation to the rest of humanity?
   • Women typically use the speech style they do because they are in less powerful positions in relation to men.
   • A good overall education program should promote understanding of the cooperative's character, governance, finances, policies, operations and market position.
   • Women don't emerge from sexual exploitation into positions of power, respect or admiration.
   • Starting the day in first position after the first round, Watson continued from where he left off to win the title.
   • I feel languorous about my world, and of my position and importance in it.

   Synonyms

   level, stage, degree, standard, stratum

   status, place, level, rank, grade, grading, rating, standing, station, footing
3. 3.3mass noun High rank or social standing.
   a woman of supposed wealth and position

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Land holding in rural areas is a major indicator of economic status and social position.
   • An establishment figure, he has all the airs and graces of his social position.
   • I don't think you're ever aware of your position as a social group perceives it.
   • Her successful career and her high social position had not brought her personal fulfilment.
   • The judges were powerful men and their social rank and position inspired loyalty.
   • They have a different social position to ordinary rank and file union members.
   • He began life with all the advantages of English rank and position.
   • Politics based upon ethnicity has led to the drastic lowering of the social position of the working class.
   • No, the reason she found him to be so irritating was that he took his position in the social hierarchy for granted.
   • I know some people who have status, position and wealth but who are not necessarily happy.
   • As a result, millions of workers have suffered an unprecedented reversal in their social position.
   • They sought to offer women confirmation of their status and position in the social world and models to which they could aspire.
   • Traditionally, not only property is bequeathed, but social and political position as well.
   • Scholars occupied an important social position in the long period of feudal society in China.
   • Not all imams are the same, of course, but they occupy a particular social position in their communities.
   • Access to education was clearly dictated by one's position in the social and gender hierarchies.
   • Every person had a different colour and number of bands, telling each of them their rank and position.
   • Such a man or woman is slave to his or her social position and wealth.
   • The symbols of independence give them the upward position in social hierarchy and status ladder.
   • All these figures reflect a loss of the social position of the working class.

   Synonyms

   status, place, level, rank, grade, grading, rating, standing, station, footing

   stature, prestige, influence, reputation, repute, importance, consequence, class
4. 3.4 A job.
   she retired from her position as marketing director

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Mr Andrew Laing took up the position on Monday, succeeding Mr Graeme Napier, who has recently been made a sheriff.
   • Why do so few women make it top level positions - not just in corporations but in science and engineering?
   • He held positions of importance in the government but was relieved of these posts by President Bashir in 1999-2000.
   • Brewing has become a fashionable career option for women, who are going on to fill positions at senior level in the industry.
   • Most people in high level government positions today are intimately connected with big business.
   • Britain's biggest insurer said it would attempt to find alternative employment for those staff whose positions are affected.
   • I accepted and became the first Jew to hold a tenured position in the mathematics department.
   • He had been offered a position at Berlin University and Minna and her family were keen to move there.
   • Some agency positions would be affected by the reduction by the end of 2003.
   • At that time, I was running for elections for the position of external relations Officer.
   • This would secure jobs and create new positions, he asserted.
   • He received a position at the University of Rostock but was appointed to a lectureship at Groningen in the same year.
   • The president has filled a number of high level positions since being re-elected.
   • There are some paid positions, but at levels below what any mainstream publication would consider a skeleton staff.
   • An often-impenetrable glass ceiling limits many women seeking executive level positions in corporate America.
   • In addition to his mathematics position, he was appointed to a divinity lectureship in 1845.
   • It usually appoints its cronies to positions of importance.
   • His resignation from his position on Monday afternoon last came as a big shock to the soccer public in Waterford.
   • An increase in the number of junior and senior level positions is now evident, but recruitment continues at a relatively sluggish pace.
   • We have therefore decided to decline the offer of discussions on a possible position on the Liberal Democrat executive.

   Synonyms

   job, day job, post, situation, appointment, role, occupation, employment

   office, capacity, duty, function

   opening, vacancy, niche, opportunity, placement

   informal berth

   Australian informal grip

   archaic employ
5. 3.5 (in team games) a role assigned to a particular player based on the location in which they play.
   he looks best in central midfield, his own preferred position

   Example sentencesExamples

   • This will be a classic battle between two of the premier players at their positions.
   • Third base once was a position flush with players with outsize offensive numbers.
   • The players at the power positions for this team look as though they've spent the past six months losing weight, not lifting weights.
   • Having two of the world's best players in key positions certainly helps a team be considered great.
   • If you do it sooner, you might miss out on some players at other positions who immediately can fill starting roles.
   • We just had a quality group of players at all positions, including defense, offense, and special teams.
   • Smith is putting an emphasis on speed at all defensive positions and wants every player moving to the ball at top speed to create turnovers.
   • There is enough money available to go after the best at those positions, or the team could sign second-tier players who would provide upgrades.
   • Shortstop and third base are the positions the team is most concerned with entering the 2001 season.
   • This is one of the deeper areas of the team because several players can play two positions.
   • You have only to look at his record of assists and willingness to pass to players in better positions to see that.
   • Don't we need provisions in player contracts that require the players to accept positions on the Olympic team?
   • Each player is assigned one position and he can only play that particular spot all year.
   • Good coaching is putting your players in positions where they have a chance to be successful.
   • The team spent the rest of the draft wisely looking for backups at depth-shy positions and special team players.
   • The reason is the team thinks it has several players who play multiple positions.
   • Fortunately for the team, second base and left field are positions where leadoff hitters can be found, making the task a little easier.
   • Players switching positions is as old as the game itself.
   • All defensive players have shifted positions according to the rules for this defense.
   • The opening quarter was a game of dueling field positions.

4A person's point of view or attitude towards something.

5The extent to which an investor, dealer, or speculator has made a commitment in the market by buying or selling securities.

6Logic
A proposition laid down or asserted; a tenet or assertion.

1with object and adverbial Put or arrange (someone or something) in a particular place or way.

1. 1.1 Promote (a product, service, or business) within a particular sector of a market, or as the fulfilment of that sector's specific requirements.
   a development plan which will position the city as a major economic force in the region

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He will, at the very least, see the addition of Your and Legend as giving him some greater clout and positioning the company for another assault.
   • McGowan is positioning the company for a big shake-out of underperforming operations.
   • Companies are also positioning their ad campaigns to this effect.
2. 1.2 Portray or regard (someone) as a particular type of person.
   I had positioned her as my antagonist

   Example sentencesExamples

   • His true politics are unknown but much of his campaign rhetoric positioned him as more pro-business than pro-labor.
   • He positions the signing of New York-based firm as just another organic extension of the company.
   • He positions the party as a vehicle for career advancement, and not one for the betterment of our society.
   • In so doing, it positions the web as Hollywood's new wellspring of original stories.
   • My fear is that by positioning it that way, it sets up certain expectations in the audiences.