breach of trust n (Law) a violation of duty by a trustee or any other person in a fiduciary position
benchmark position
n (N.Z.) a public service job used for comparison with a similar position, such as a position in commerce, for wage settlements
false position
n a situation in which a person is forced to act or seems to be acting against his principles or interests
fetal position
n a bodily position similar to that of a fetus in the womb, with the knees up towards the chest and the head bent forward
lotus position
n a seated cross-legged position used in yoga, meditation, etc.
missionary position
n
Informal a position for sexual intercourse in which the man lies on top of the woman and they are face to face
(C20: from the belief that missionaries advocated this as the proper position to primitive peoples among whom it was unknown)
open position
n (Commerce) a situation in which a dealer in commodities, securities, or currencies has either unsold stock or uncovered sales
pole position
n
1 (in motor racing) the starting position on the inside of the front row, generally considered the best one
2 an advantageous starting position
position
n
1 the place, situation, or location of a person or thing
he took up a position to the rear
2 the appropriate or customary location
the telescope is in position for use
3 the arrangement or disposition of the body or a part of the body
the corpse was found in a sitting position
4 the manner in which a person or thing is placed; arrangement
5 (Military) an area or point occupied for tactical reasons
6 mental attitude; point of view; stand
what's your position on this issue?
7 social status or standing, esp. high social standing
8 a post of employment; job
9 the act of positing a fact or viewpoint
10 something posited, such as an idea, proposition, etc.
11 (Sport) the part of a field or playing area where a player is placed or where he generally operates
a the vertical spacing or layout of the written notes in a chord. Chords arranged with the three upper voices close together are in close position. Chords whose notes are evenly or widely distributed are in open position
See also →
root position
b one of the points on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument, determining where a string is to be stopped
13 (in classical prosody)
a the situation in which a short vowel may be regarded as long, that is, when it occurs before two or more consonants
b ♦
make position (of a consonant, either on its own or in combination with other consonants, such as x in Latin) to cause a short vowel to become metrically long when placed after it
14 (Finance) the market commitment of a dealer in securities, currencies, or commodities
a long position, a short position
15 ♦
in a position foll by an infinitive able (to)
I'm not in a position to reveal these figures
vb tr
16 to put in the proper or appropriate place; locate
17 (Sport) to place (oneself or another player) in a particular part of the field or playing area
18 Rare to locate or ascertain the position of
(C15: from Late Latin positio a positioning, affirmation, from ponere to place, lay down)
♦
positional adj
position audit
n (Commerce) a systematic assessment of the current strengths and weaknesses of an organization as a prerequisite for future strategic planning
position effect
n the effect on the phenotype of interacting genes when their relative positions on the chromosome are altered, as by inversion
root position
n (Music) the vertical distribution of the written notes of a chord in which the root of the chord is in the bass
See →
position →
12a →
inversion →
5a