statement

Pluralstatements

1. 1
   remarknouncountable

   A declaration or remark, whether spoken or written.

   The senator's statement drew immediate criticism from both parties.

   Witnesses gave conflicting statements about when the crash happened.

   UsageYou make a statement; companies and governments issue or release one. Witnesses give a statement to the police.

   Similardeclaration, remark, comment, announcement, account

2. 2
   show of beliefnouncountable

   An expression or presentation of one's opinion or position on a matter.

   The company's refusal to sponsor the event was a statement in itself.

   Artists have long used bold murals as statements of political defiance.

   UsageUsually make a statement, often about or against something; an act can be a statement in itself.

   Similarexpression, message, gesture

3. 3
   bank recordnouncountable

   A document summarizing the financial activity of an account or business over a period, or its financial position at a particular date.

   Her credit card statement listed every purchase from the trip.

   Investors examined the company's statements closely before approving the merger.

   UsageUsually with a noun before it: a bank statement, a credit card statement. Companies publish financial statements.

   Similarbill, account, report

   Note

   Finance uses the word for the periodic record itself. A bank statement goes to an account holder, while a company's statements go to investors, auditors and regulators. When the talk is of a company's accounts, the plural usually means its financial reporting as a whole, so "examining the statements" is about the accounts, not about anything the firm has said.

4. 4
   adjective

   Decisive; making an emphatic impact that leaves no doubt about the outcome or the message.

   The champion's first-round knockout was a statement performance.

   Cutting ties with its biggest supplier was a statement move by the new CEO.

   UsageMost common in sports and news writing: a statement win, a statement move, a statement result.

   Similaremphatic, decisive, commanding, bold, dominant

   Note

   An adjective that grew out of the noun placed before another noun, and it still lives only in that slot: a statement victory, a statement performance, never a victory that is statement. Sports journalism uses it constantly, as BBC Sport did of Arsenal's 2023 win over Manchester City.

5. 5
   code linenouncountable

   A single instruction in a computer program that carries out an action, such as an assignment or a loop, as distinct from an expression, which produces a value.

   The compiler flagged an error on the final statement of the loop.

   Assignment statements store values in variables for later use.

   Similarinstruction, command

   Note

   Programmers name some statements by the keyword that starts them, such as the FOR statement and the NEXT statement, and others by what they do, such as an assignment statement. Thomas C. Bartee's BASIC computer programming (1981) pairs FOR with NEXT, one always used alongside the other. The useful contrast is with an expression: a statement is carried out for its effect rather than to produce a value. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Some statements are named after opening keywords; others, including assignment statements, are named for their operation and need not begin with a keyword. cs.uni.edu
   • Thomas C. Bartee wrote BASIC Computer Programming, published in 1981. www3.saultcollege.ca
   • Bartee's book describes FOR and NEXT as statements used together. datassette.s3.us-west-004.backblazeb2.com
   • Statements execute for their effect rather than evaluating to a value. docs.oracle.com
6. 6
   adjective

   Describing clothing, jewelry, or decor so striking that it gets noticed, picked to display the wearer's or owner's personal taste.

   Stylists often build a simple outfit around one statement piece, such as chunky earrings or a red coat.

   The couple painted a statement wall in deep green behind the bed and kept the rest of the room white.

   Similarbold, eye-catching, striking

   Oppositeunderstated

   Note

   A noun put to work in front of other nouns: statement piece, statement necklace, statement wall. It almost always stands before the thing it describes, so the earrings are a statement pair rather than earrings that are statement. The idea comes from making a statement in the "opinion or position" meaning: the object itself says something about the person who chose it. It belongs to the language of fashion and interior design.

Showing meanings only. Show all 7