poses

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of pose.

   The new tax law poses several problems for small businesses.

   He poses for the portrait every afternoon in the same chair.

   Note

   Whether an object follows decides most of the meaning. With one, something poses a question, a riddle, a risk or a threat. This abstract use fits laws, plans and problems as subjects. Without an object, a person poses for a portrait or a camera, or poses to attract admiration. A further use is impersonation: someone poses as a doctor or an inspector to reach some goal.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of pose.

   The model held a series of dramatic poses for the photographer.

   His relaxed poses in the painting hid a lifetime of careful effort.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs: the same letters serve as the verb's present-tense form, so only the sentence shows which is meant. As a noun plural it covers both kinds of pose. One is a held position of the body, as for a camera or a painter. The other is a put-on attitude of affectation. "His poses" can mean how he sat or how he pretended, and context tells them apart.

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