# place

Pronunciation: say "PLAYS" /pleɪs/

## Noun

1. A particular spot, area, or point in space.
   - Simple: A particular point or area where something is.
   - _Everything in the kitchen has its place._
   - _Mark the exact place on the map where you found the old coin._
3. A particular area, such as a region, country, town or village.
   - Simple: An area such as a town, city, region or country, as in 'a cold place in winter'.
   - _The north is a cold place in winter._
   - _Some places get no rain for years._
4. An establishment that the public visits, most often somewhere to eat, drink or shop.
   - Simple: A business you go to, often one where you eat, drink or buy things.
   - _The pizza place on the corner delivers until midnight._
   - _After years of cooking in other people's kitchens, he finally opened his own place downtown._
5. The position a competitor achieves or holds in a contest.
   - Simple: Where someone finishes in a race or competition.
   - _A tie for third place was declared._
   - _The top three places went to the same school._
6. Someone's home, especially, in earlier use, a farm or country estate.
   - Simple: The house where someone lives.
   - _His place is a one-room flat over a shop._
   - _Their places were a mile apart on the same road._
7. A person's role, purpose, or station.
   - Simple: Your proper role or position among other people.
   - _A servant who forgot his place was dismissed._
   - _Someone needs to put him in his place before he upsets the whole staff._
11. A state of mind someone is in.
   - Simple: How someone feels inside at a particular time.
   - _After the funeral he was in a very low place._
   - _Give me a week and I'll be in a better place._
12. A seat or space reserved for or occupied by a particular person, as at a table.
   - Simple: The space one person takes up, especially a seat.
   - _Is this place taken?_
   - _Set six places for dinner._
14. A particular location in a book or document, especially where a reader has got to.
   - Simple: The point you have reached in a book or document.
   - _She found her place and read on._
   - _He slipped a receipt between the pages to keep his place._
16. Membership of a sports team as one of its selected players, a position that can be won or lost.
   - Simple: A spot as one of the players in a sports team.
   - _A bad season cost him his place._
   - _There are only eleven places in the starting side, and twenty players want them._
17. The position something holds in a sequence of steps or stages, as first, next, or last.
   - Simple: Position in an order, used in phrases like in the first place.
   - _In the first place, the plan costs too much, and in the second place, nobody really wants it._
   - _Why did you go there in the first place?_
18. In numbers, the column counting a certain quantity.
   - Simple: In maths, the position of a digit in a number, such as the tens or hundreds.
   - _Move every digit one place to the left to multiply by ten._
   - _In the number 4,725, the digit 7 is in the hundreds place._
19. A localized area of the body, most often of the skin.
   - Simple: A spot on the body, especially on the skin.
   - _Show the doctor the place where it itches._
   - _Bruised places showed on both arms._
20. In horse racing, a finish among the leading runners behind or including the winner, especially second place.
   - Simple: In horse racing, a finish among the first few runners, especially in second place.
   - _Our horse never looked like winning, but it held on for a place in a tight finish._
   - _A place bet pays less than a win bet, but you still collect if your horse finishes second._
21. A street, often in names or addresses, sometimes surrounding a square or plaza of the same name.
   - Simple: Used as part of the name of some streets.
   - _The office is on Regent Place, not Regent Street._
   - _Her new apartment is on Maple Place, a short street just off the main road._
23. An open area, especially a square in a town or city, a marketplace, or a courtyard.
   - Simple: An open space in a town, such as a market square.
   - _Restaurants set out tables across the cobbled market place on summer evenings._
   - _Old towns grew round their market places._
24. Reception, effect, or the making of room for something.
   - Simple: Room for something to be accepted or welcomed.
   - _Doubt had no place in her mind._
   - _Give place to the new, the preacher urged._
28. An available spot for a single person to attend a school, college, or university, or to take part in a course or activity with a capped number of participants.
   - Simple: A space for one person to study at a school, college, or university, or to join a class with limited spaces.
   - _Thousands of students apply each year for a place in the university's nursing program._
   - _He gave up his place in the summer art workshop so that his sister could go instead._

## Verb

2. To set or arrange a person or thing in a given position.
   - Simple: To set something or someone down in a certain spot.
   - _Please place your bags on the belt._
   - _The statue was placed facing the sea._
8. To make or put in something such as an order, a bet, a call, or an advertisement.
   - Simple: To make or arrange something, such as an order, a bet, a phone call, or an advert.
   - _You can place an order online._
   - _The call was placed at nine in the morning._
9. To finish in a particular position in a competition or race, especially among the leaders; in horse racing, often to finish second.
   - Simple: To finish in a certain position in a race or competition, especially near the top.
   - _Did you place at all in the final?_
   - _The filly was placed second by the judges._
10. To assign a greater or lesser value to something.
   - Simple: To give a certain amount of value or importance to something.
   - _Investors place great store by a steady dividend._
   - _The judge placed no weight on the rumor._
13. To remember where and when a person or thing was previously encountered.
   - Simple: To remember where you have seen someone or something before.
   - _It took me a minute to place her face._
   - _He placed the tune at last, a hymn from school._
15. To match a person with a suitable job, or an animal with an adoptive home.
   - Simple: To find a job for someone, or a home for an animal.
   - _The agency will place you within a week._
   - _Twelve kittens were placed by Christmas._
25. To establish where someone was, especially in vouching for an alibi.
   - Simple: To confirm where someone was at a certain time.
   - _The receipt helps place her in the city that day._
   - _Three people placed him at the bar until midnight._
26. In sports, to score a goal by kicking the ball from where it has been set on the ground.
   - Simple: In sport, to score a goal by kicking a ball resting on the ground.

## Noun

22. An area for urinating and defecating, such as an outhouse or lavatory, used euphemistically. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A polite word for the toilet.
27. A stronghold, such as a walled town, citadel, or fortress. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A fort or a town with strong walls around it.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To sing a note squarely on pitch, without sliding up or down to it.
- (noun) The ground where a battle is fought or the territory being contested.
- (noun) A section of text taken out of a book or other written work.
- (noun) A subject or theme for discussion or argument.
- (noun) In chess, one of the squares on the board, the spot where a piece stands.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–7, 11–12, 14, 16–24, 27–28** — From Middle English 'place', a blend of Old English 'plæċe' (place, open space, street) and Old French 'place', both from Latin 'platea' (plaza, wide street). The Latin came from Ancient Greek 'plateîa', a shortening of 'plateîa hodós' (broad way), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to spread' or 'flat'. It is a doublet of 'piazza' and 'plaza'.
**Meanings 2, 8–10, 13, 15, 25–26** — From Middle English 'placen', formed from the noun 'place'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/place (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).