statements

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of statement.

   The committee reviewed several statements from eyewitnesses.

   Financial statements must be filed before the end of the quarter.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs here. As a noun it is the regular plural, and the same letters also serve as the verb form. The plural follows every meaning of statement: spoken declarations, stated positions, documents summarizing financial activity, and, in programming, the instructions that make up code. Programmers distinguish statements from function calls. The company a word keeps usually tells you which is meant, as in statements from eyewitnesses or financial statements.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of statement.

   Note

   The verb behind this form is administrative. It means to issue an official document setting out a proposition, and it is used especially in the UK for a Statement of Special Educational Needs. Because the verb is transitive, statements always takes an object, as in an authority statements a pupil. It belongs to the language of schools and official procedure, so expect it in policy writing rather than in conversation.

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