Definition of 'place'

Word Frequency

place

(pleɪs )

Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense places , present participle placing , past tense, past participle placed

1. countable noun

A place is any point, building, area, town, or country.

...Temple Mount, the place where the Temple actually stood.

...a list of museums and places of interest. [+ of]

We're going to a place called Mont-St-Jean.

...the opportunity to visit new places.

The best place to catch fish on a canal is close to a lock.

The pain is always in the same place.

Synonyms: region, city, town, quarter More Synonyms of place

2. singular noun

You can use the place to refer to the point, building, area, town, or country that you have already mentioned.

Except for the remarkably tidy kitchen, the place was a mess.

For a ruin it was in good condition, as though the place was still being used.

3. countable noun

You can refer to somewhere that provides a service, such as a hotel, restaurant, or institution, as a particular kind of place.

He found a bed-and-breakfast place.

We discovered some superb places to eat.

My hospital is one of many places that benefited from the queen's support.

See take place

5. singular noun

Place can be used after 'any', 'no', 'some', or 'every' to mean 'anywhere', 'nowhere', 'somewhere', or 'everywhere'.

[mainly US, informal]

The poor guy obviously didn't have any place to go for Easter.

Why not go out and see if there's some place we can dance?

6. adverb [ADVERB after verb]

If you go places, you visit pleasant or interesting places.

[mainly US]

I don't have money to go places.

People were talking to him, listening to him, taking him places.

7. countable noun

You can refer to the position where something belongs, or where it is supposed to be, as its place.

He returned the album to its place on the shelf.

He returned to his place on the sofa.

Synonyms: position, point, spot, location More Synonyms of place

8. countable noun

A place is a seat or position that is available for someone to occupy.

He walked back to the table and sat at the nearest of two empty places.

I found a place to park beside a station wagon.

9. countable noun [with poss]

Someone's or something's place in a society, system, or situation is their position in relation to other people or things.

They want to see more women take their place higher up the corporate or professional ladder.

...the important place of Christianity in our national culture. [+ of]

10. countable noun [usually singular]

Your place in a race or competition is your position in relation to the other competitors. If you are in first place, you are ahead of all the other competitors.

He won third place in the Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants awards. [+ in]

He has risen to second place in the opinion polls.

11. countable noun

If you get a place in a team, on a committee, or on a course of study, for example, you are accepted as a member of the team or committee or as a student on the course.

He has found a place in the first team.

All the candidates won places on the ruling council.

I eventually got a place at York University. [+ at]

They should be in residential care but there are no places available.

To book your place fill in the coupon on page 187 and return it by 1st October.

Synonyms: job, position, post, situation More Synonyms of place

12. singular noun [oft NOUN to-infinitive]

A good place to do something in a situation or activity is a good time or stage at which to do it.

It seemed an appropriate place to end somehow.

This is not the place for a lengthy discussion. [+ for]

13. countable noun [usually singular, usually poss NOUN]

Your place is the house or flat where you live.

[informal]

Let's all go back to my place!

He kept encouraging Rosie to find a place of her own.

Synonyms: home, house, room, property More Synonyms of place

14. countable noun [usually singular, usually poss NOUN]

Your place in a book or speech is the point you have reached in reading the book or making the speech.

...her finger marking her place in the book.

He lost his place in his notes.

15. countable noun

If you say how many decimal places there are in a number, you are saying how many numbers there are to the right of the decimal point.

A pocket calculator only works to eight decimal places.

16. verb

If you place something somewhere, you put it in a particular position, especially in a careful, firm, or deliberate way.

Brand folded it in his handkerchief and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]

Chairs were hastily placed in rows for the parents. [be VERB-ed preposition/adverb]

Synonyms: lay (down), leave, put (down), set (down) More Synonyms of place

17. verb

To place a person or thing in a particular state means to cause them to be in it.

Widespread protests have placed the President under serious pressure. [VERB noun preposition]

The crisis could well place the relationship at risk. [VERB noun preposition]

The remaining 30 percent of each army will be placed under U.N. control. [be VERB-ed preposition]

18. verb

You can use place instead of 'put' or 'lay' in certain expressions where the meaning is carried by the following noun. For example, if you place emphasis on something, you emphasize it, and if you place the blame on someone, you blame them.

We should teach the young by placing responsibility on them. [V n on/upon n]

He placed great emphasis on the importance of family life and ties. [V n + on/upon]

She seemed to be placing most of the blame on her mother. [V n on/upon n]

His government is placing its faith in international diplomacy. [VERB noun + in]

19. verb

If you place someone or something in a particular class or group, you label or judge them in that way.

You take a simple written and verbal test so you can be placed in the appropriate class. [VERB noun preposition]

This logic places stupidity on the same level as intelligence. [VERB noun preposition]

20. verb [usually passive]

If a competitor is placed first, second, or last, for example, that is their position at the end of a race or competition. In American English, be placed often means 'finish in second position'.

I had been placed 2nd and 3rd a few times but had never won. [be V-ed ord]

Second-placed Auxerre suffered a surprising 2-0 home defeat to Nantes. [ord V-ed]

21. verb

If you place an order for a product or for a meal, you ask for it to be sent or brought to you.

It is a good idea to place your order well in advance. [VERB noun]

Before placing your order for a meal, study the menu. [VERB noun + for]

22. verb

If you place an advertisement in a newspaper, you arrange for the advertisement to appear in the newspaper.

They placed an advertisement in the local paper for a secretary. [VERB noun + in]

[Also VERB noun]

23. verb

If you place a phone call to a particular place, you give the telephone operator the number of the person you want to speak to and ask them to connect you.

I'd like to place an overseas call. [VERB noun]

24. verb

If you place a bet, you bet money on something.

For this race, though, he had already placed a bet on one of the horses. [VERB noun + on]

[Also VERB noun]

25. verb

If an agency or organization places someone, it finds them a job or somewhere to live.

In 1861, they managed to place fourteen women in paid positions in the colonies. [VERB noun + in]

In cases where it proves difficult to place a child, the reception centre provides long-term care. [VERB noun]

26. verb

If you say that you cannot place someone, you mean that you recognize them but cannot remember exactly who they are or where you have met them before.

Something about the man was familiar, although I could not immediately place him. [VERB noun]

It was a voice he recognized, though he could not immediately place it. [VERB noun]

27. See also meeting place

28.

See all over the place

29.

See all over the place

30.

See all over the place

31.

See to change places

32.

See to click into place

33.

See to fall into place

34.

See go places

35.

See in high places

36.

See in place/into place/out of place

37.

See in place

38.

See in place of sth/sb, in sth's/sb's place

39.

See in places

40.

See in sb's place

41.

See in the first place

42.

See in the first place

43.

See not sb's place to do sth

44.

See out of place

45.

See a place in the sun

46.

See place sth above/before/over sth

47.

See put sb in their place

48.

See show sb their place/keep sb in their place

49.

See take second place

50.

See take the place of/take sb's place

51. pride of place

More Synonyms of place

Word Frequency

Place

countable noun

Place is used as part of the name of a square or short street in a town.

...15 Portland Place, London W1A 4DD.

Video: pronunciation of
place

place in British English

(pleɪs )

noun

a particular point or part of space or of a surface, esp that occupied by a person or thing

a geographical point, such as a town, city, etc

a position or rank in a sequence or order

an open square lined with houses of a similar type in a city or town

(capital when part of a street name)

Grosvenor Place

space or room

a house or living quarters

a country house with grounds

any building or area set aside for a specific purpose

a passage in a book, play, film, etc

to lose one's place

10.

proper or appropriate position or time

the Stock Exchange is no place for the faint-hearted

11.

right or original position

put it back in its place

12.

suitable, appropriate, or customary surroundings (esp in the phrases out of place, in place)

13.

right, prerogative, or duty

it is your place to give a speech

14.

appointment, position, or job

a place at college

15.

position, condition, or state

if I were in your place

16.

a space or seat, as at a dining table

(as modifier)

place mat

17. mathematics

the relative position of a digit in a number

Place in British English

(pleɪs )

noun

Francis. 1771–1854, British radical, who campaigned for the repeal (1824) of the Combination Acts, which forbade the forming of trade unions, and for parliamentary reform

Word Frequency

place in American English

(pleɪs )

noun

a square or court in a city

a short street, often closed at one end

space; room

a particular area or locality; region

the part of space occupied by a person or thing

situation or state

if I were in his place

a city, town, or village

a residence; dwelling; house and grounds

a building or space devoted to a special purpose

a place of amusement

a particular spot on or part of the body or a surface

a sore place on the leg

10.

a particular passage or page in a book, magazine, etc., esp. the point where one has temporarily stopped reading

to mark one's place

11.

position or standing, esp. one of importance, accorded to one

one's place in history

12.

a step or point in a sequence

in the first place

13.

the customary, proper, or natural position, time, or character

14.

a space used, reserved, or customarily occupied by a person, as a seat in a theater, at a table, etc.

15.

an office; employment; position

16.

official position

17.

the duties of any position

18.

the duty, or business (of a person)

19.

in racing, the first, second, or third position at the finish, specif. the second position

20. Arithmetic

the position of a digit in a number (Ex.: in 12.3 the one is in the ten's place, the two in the unit's place, and the three in the tenth's place)

verb transitiveWord forms: placed or ˈplacing

21.

to put in a particular place, condition, or relation

to put in an assigned or proper place, as in a sequence or series

c. US

to identify by associating with the correct place or circumstances

to place somebody's face

22.

to find employment or a position for; appoint to an office

23.

to arrange for a desired handling, treatment, or allocation of

to place a shipment, to place a child for adoption

24.

to assign (a value)

25.

to make or give as an estimate

26.

to offer (a proposal, problem, etc.) to be considered

27.

to repose (confidence, trust, hope, etc.) in a person or thing

28.

to adjust (the voice) to head or chest register

29.

to finish in (a specified position) in a competition

to place last

verb intransitive

30. Sport

to finish among the first three in a contest; specif., to finish second in a horse or dog race

Idioms:

put someone in his (or her) place

run in place

take place

take the place of

Word origin

OFr < L platea, a broad street (in LL, an open space) < Gr plateia, a street < platys, broad: see platy-

Examples of 'place' in a sentence
place

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Check also what cover is already in place.We meet in places where no one will see us.This is the perfect place to try something funky.This place is going to be a riot.There is no shortage of places to find running buddies.The curfew is now back in place in three areas.There are places you just visit and places you explore.But we're only eight points off second place.For now, the most important thing is that their place in the second round is secure.They needed a point to book their place in the last 32 of the competition.