position definition | Dictionary.com

po⋅si⋅tion

[puh-zish-uh

–noun

1.	condition with reference to place; location; situation.

2.	a place occupied or to be occupied; site: a fortified position.

3.	the proper, appropriate, or usual place: out of position.

4.	situation or condition, esp. with relation to favorable or unfavorable circumstances: to be in an awkward position; to bargain from a position of strength.

5.	status or standing: He has a position to maintain in the community.

6.	high standing, as in society; important status: a person of wealth and position.

7.	a post of employment: a position in a bank.

8.	manner of being placed, disposed, or arranged: the relative position of the hands of a clock.

9.	bodily posture or attitude: to be in a sitting position.

10.	mental attitude; stand: one's position on a controversial topic.

11.	the act of positing.

12.	something that is posited.

13.	Ballet. any of the five basic positions of the feet with which every step or movement begins and ends. Compare first position, second position, third position, fourth position, fifth position.

14.

Music.

a.	the arrangement of tones in a chord, esp. with regard to the location of the root tone in a triad or to the distance of the tones from each other. Compare close position, inversion (def. 8a), open position, root position.

b.	any of the places on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument where the fingers stop the strings to produce the variouspitches.

c.	any of the places to which the slide of a trombone is shifted to produce changes in pitch.

15.	Finance. a commitment to buy or sell securities: He took a large position in defense stocks.

16.	Classical Prosody. the situation of a short vowel before two or more consonants or their equivalent, making the syllable metrically long.

–verb (used with object)

17.	to put in a particular or appropriate position; place.

18.	to determine the position of; locate.

Origin:
1325–75; ME posicioun a positing (< AF) < L positiōn- (s. of positiō) a placing, etc. See posit, -ion

Related forms:

po⋅si⋅tion⋅al, adjective

po⋅si⋅tion⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
2. station, locality, spot. 5. rank. 7. Position, job, place, situation refer to a post of employment. Position is any employment, though usually above manual labor: a position as clerk. Job is colloquial for position, and applies to any work from lowest to highest in an organization: a job as cook, as manager. Place and situation are both mainly used today in reference to a position that is desired or being applied for; situation is the general word in the business world: Situations Wanted; place is used rather of domestic employment: He is looking for a place as a gardener. 8. placement, disposition, array, arrangement. 9. Position, posture, attitude, pose refer to an arrangement or disposal of the body or its parts. Position is the general word for the arrangement of the body: in a reclining position. Posture is usually an assumed arrangement of the body, esp. when standing: a relaxed posture. Attitude is often a posture assumed for imitative effect or the like, but may be one adopted for a purpose (as that of a fencer or a tightrope walker): an attitude of prayer. A pose is an attitude assumed, in most cases, for artistic effect: an attractive pose. 12. proposition, hypothesis, postulate, thesis; dictum, assertion, predication, contention; doctrine, principle. 17. situate.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To position

po·si·tion (pə-zĭsh'ən)

A place or location.
1. The right or appropriate place: The bands are in position for the parade's start.
2. A strategic area occupied by members of a force: The troops took up positions along the river.
3. The way in which something is placed: the position of the clock's hands.
4. The arrangement of body parts; posture: a standing position.
5. Sports The area for which a particular player is responsible.
6. The arrangement of the pieces or cards at any particular time in a game such as chess, checkers, or bridge.
7. The act or process of positing.
8. A principle or proposition posited.
9. A commitment to buy or sell a given amount of securities or commodities.
10. The amount of securities or commodities held by a person, firm, or institution.
11. The ownership status of a person's or institution's investments.
1. The way in which something is placed: the position of the clock's hands.
2. The arrangement of body parts; posture: a standing position.
3. Sports The area for which a particular player is responsible.
4. The arrangement of the pieces or cards at any particular time in a game such as chess, checkers, or bridge.
5. The act or process of positing.
6. A principle or proposition posited.
7. A commitment to buy or sell a given amount of securities or commodities.
8. The amount of securities or commodities held by a person, firm, or institution.
9. The ownership status of a person's or institution's investments.
An advantageous place or location: jockeys maneuvering for position.
A situation as it relates to the surrounding circumstances: in a position to bargain.
A point of view or attitude on a certain question: the mayor's position on taxes.
Social standing or status; rank.
A post of employment; a job.
1. Sports The area for which a particular player is responsible.
2. The arrangement of the pieces or cards at any particular time in a game such as chess, checkers, or bridge.
3. The act or process of positing.
4. A principle or proposition posited.
5. A commitment to buy or sell a given amount of securities or commodities.
6. The amount of securities or commodities held by a person, firm, or institution.
7. The ownership status of a person's or institution's investments.
1. The act or process of positing.
2. A principle or proposition posited.
3. A commitment to buy or sell a given amount of securities or commodities.
4. The amount of securities or commodities held by a person, firm, or institution.
5. The ownership status of a person's or institution's investments.
1. A commitment to buy or sell a given amount of securities or commodities.
2. The amount of securities or commodities held by a person, firm, or institution.
3. The ownership status of a person's or institution's investments.

tr.v. po·si·tioned, po·si·tion·ing, po·si·tions

To put in place or position.
To determine the position of; locate.

[Middle English posicioun, from Old French posicion, from Latin positiō, positiōn-, from positus, past participle of pōnere, to place; see apo- in Indo-European roots.]
po·si'tion·al adj., po·si'tion·al·ly adv., po·si'tion·er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Position

Po*si"tion\, n. [F. position, L. positio, fr. ponere, positum, to put, place; prob. for posino, fr. an old preposition used only in comp. (akin to Gr. ?) + sinere to leave, let, permit, place. See Site, and cf. Composite, Compound, v., Depone, Deposit, Expound, Impostor, Opposite, Propound, Pose, v., Posit, Post, n.]

1. The state of being posited, or placed; the manner in which anything is placed; attitude; condition; as, a firm, an inclined, or an upright position.

We have different prospects of the same thing, according to our different positions to it. --Locke.

2. The spot where a person or thing is placed or takes a place; site; place; station; situation; as, the position of man in creation; the fleet changed its position.

3. Hence: The ground which any one takes in an argument or controversy; the point of view from which any one proceeds to a discussion; also, a principle laid down as the basis of reasoning; a proposition; a thesis; as, to define one's position; to appear in a false position.

Let not the proof of any position depend on the positions that follow, but always on those which go before. --I. Watts.

4. Relative place or standing; social or official rank; as, a person of position; hence, office; post; as, to lose one's position.

5. (Arith.) A method of solving a problem by one or two suppositions; -- called also the rule of trial and error.

Angle of position (Astron.), the angle which any line (as that joining two stars) makes with another fixed line, specifically with a circle of declination.

Double position (Arith.), the method of solving problems by proceeding with each of two assumed numbers, according to the conditions of the problem, and by comparing the difference of the results with those of the numbers, deducing the correction to be applied to one of them to obtain the true result.

Guns of position (Mil.), heavy fieldpieces, not designed for quick movements.

Position finder (Mil.), a range finder. See under Range.

Position micrometer, a micrometer applied to the tube of an astronomical telescope for measuring angles of position in the field of view.

Single position (Arith.), the method of solving problems, in which the result obtained by operating with an assumed number is to the true result as the number assumed is to the number required.

Strategic position (Mil.), a position taken up by an army or a large detachment of troops for the purpose of checking or observing an opposing force.

Syn: Situation; station; place; condition; attitude; posture; proposition; assertion; thesis.

Position

Po*si"tion\, v. t. To indicate the position of; to place. [R.] --Encyc. Brit.

Language Translation for : position

Spanish: posición, postura,

German: die Stellung,

Japanese: 姿勢

More Translations »

position (n.)

c.1374, as a term in logic and philosophy, from O.Fr. posicion, from L. positionem (nom. positio) "act or fact of placing, position, affirmation," from posit-, pp. stem of ponere "put, place," from PIE *po-s(i)nere, from *apo- "off, away" (see apo-) + *sinere "to leave, let," of obscure origin. Meaning "manner in which a body is arranged or posed" first recorded 1703; specifically in ref. to dance steps, 1778, sexual intercourse, 1883. Meaning "official station, employment" is from 1890. The verb meaning "to put in a particular position" is recorded from 1817.

Position

The amount of a security either owned (which constitutes a long position) or borrowed (which constitutes a short position) by an individual or by a dealer. In other words, it's a trade an investor currently holds open.

Investopedia Commentary

For example, you might hear it used in the following contexts:
1. Dealers often take long positions in specific securities to maintain inventories and allow for quick and easy trading.
2. The trader closed his position and locked in a profit of 10%.