stance

noun

ˈstan(t)s How to pronounce stance (audio)
Synonyms 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

Synonyms of stance

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of stance in a Sentence

a slightly aggressive stance
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While Einstein, David Bohm, and Schrödinger are often seen as champions of determinism in scientific history, Santo argues that there stance was more nuanced and less polarised than many think. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026 The group has faced criticism over its stances on various issues, including the wars in Gaza and Iran. — Saige Miller, NPR, 22 Oct. 2026 Often the Bulls fell into a flat-footed stance in the half-court offense, looking around as if waiting for an instruction that never came. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026 Changing the Jewish vote Jewish voters have historically supported Democratic candidates by a substantial margin, but that may be changing due to Republicans’ hardline stance on Israel. — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stance

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of stance was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing stance

Rhymes for stance

See All Rhymes for stance

Browse Nearby Words

stan
stance
stanch
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stance. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

stance

noun
ˈstan(t)s How to pronounce stance (audio)
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All