status
Pluralstatuses, status
- 1The current condition of a situation or set of affairs.
The manager requested an update on the project's status before the deadline.
Engineers reviewed the status of every system before the launch.
UsageThe status of something is where it stands now; status as something is what it counts as: its status as a financial center.
- 2The legally recognized condition or classification of a person or thing, from which particular rights and duties follow.
Refugees often wait years to learn their legal status.
The court clarified the status of the disputed land.
UsageOften with a qualifier: legal status, refugee status, immigration status.
Similarposition, standing, condition, classification
Note
Lawyers mean by status the position a person or thing holds within a legal system. It is the standing from which particular rights, duties and capacities follow, rather than any one of those rights itself.
- 3A person's social or professional standing relative to others, especially the respect or prestige they have.
His social status rose sharply after he won the election.
In many communities, age confers a particular status within the family.
UsageOften with a word for the scale: social status, economic status. The plural is usually statuses.
- 4A message a user posts in an instant messaging app that appears automatically to others who try to make contact.
Before boarding my flight, I set my status to say I'd be unreachable until Monday.
Her status showed a line from her favorite song.
UsageSet your status to busy or away.
Note
Software turned the word into something you write. A status is updated, posted and read, and it often signals availability, as in setting it to busy. The idea has spread beyond instant messaging to social networks. Northern Cree's 2012 song "Facebook Drama" turns on it, with the singer having read someone's status the night before.
Less common meanings
- 5A brief update posted to one's social media profile, often a line or two about current activities, thoughts, or mood.
His latest status, posted from the airport, simply read "Finally heading home."
Her statuses lately have been mostly song lyrics and complaints about the weather.
UsagePost a status, read someone's latest status; the plural is statuses.
Note
Its nearest relative is the instant-messaging message that greets anyone trying to make contact; both tell others about the user without being sent to anyone in particular.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Social-media status updates are closely related to instant-messaging away messages. faculty.ist.psu.edu
- An instant-messaging status message can appear automatically when someone attempts contact. en.wikipedia.org
- 6Short for status epilepticus or status asthmaticus: a seizure that lasts or keeps recurring without recovery in between, or a severe asthma attack that resists standard treatment.
Practice
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Origin
Scholars took this straight from the Latin word status. It shares its source with state and estate, which makes the three words doublets.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Status is a learned borrowing directly from Latin status. en.wiktionary.org
- Status, state and estate share the Latin source status. en.wiktionary.org
- Status, state and estate are etymological doublets. en.wiktionary.org