What does "place" mean?
An area; somewhere within an area.; An open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard.
Place
/pleɪs/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An area; somewhere within an area.; An open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard.
- Grammar: place is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: position, spot, location, seat.
- Useful contrasts: unplaced, absence, detach.
- Usage evidence: America is a lovely place to be, if you are here to earn money.
How to use "place"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "place" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "place" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "place" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "place" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "place" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "position" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "place", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An area; somewhere within an area.; An open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard. countable, physical, uncountable
"Ay, sir, the other squirrel was stolen from me by the hangman's boys in the market-place"
- 2 a job in an organization wordnet
- 3 An area; somewhere within an area.; A street, sometimes but not always surrounding a public place, square, or plaza of the same name. countable, often, physical, uncountable
"They live at Westminster Place."
- 4 the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another wordnet
- 5 An area; somewhere within an area.; An inhabited area: a village, town, or city. countable, physical, uncountable
Show 34 more definitions
- 6 an abstract mental location wordnet
- 7 An area; somewhere within an area.; Any area of the earth: a region. countable, physical, uncountable
"He is going back to his native place on vacation."
- 8 a blank area wordnet
- 9 An area; somewhere within an area.; The area one occupies, particularly somewhere to sit. countable, physical, uncountable
"We asked the restaurant to give us a table with three places."
- 10 the passage that is being read wordnet
- 11 An area; somewhere within an area.; The area where one lives: one's home, formerly (chiefly) country estates and farms. countable, physical, uncountable
"My Lady Dedlock has been down at what she calls, in familiar conversation, her "place" in Lincolnshire."
- 12 an item on a list or in a sequence wordnet
- 13 An area; somewhere within an area.; An area of the body, especially the skin. countable, physical, uncountable
"Which place hurts the most?"
- 14 any area set aside for a particular purpose wordnet
- 15 An area; somewhere within an area.; An area to urinate and defecate: an outhouse or lavatory. countable, euphemistic, physical, slang, uncountable
"Place,... (2) a jakes, or house of ease."
- 16 where you live at a particular time wordnet
- 17 An area; somewhere within an area.; An area to fight: a battlefield or the contested ground in a battle. countable, obsolete, physical, uncountable
- 18 a public square with room for pedestrians wordnet
- 19 A location or position in space. countable, uncountable
"In that same place thou hast appointed me, To-morrow truly will I meete with thee."
- 20 the particular portion of space occupied by something wordnet
- 21 A particular location in a book or document, particularly the current location of a reader countable, uncountable
"I lost my place when you interrupted me."
- 22 a general vicinity wordnet
- 23 A passage or extract from a book or document. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 24 a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane) wordnet
- 25 A topic. countable, obsolete, rhetoric, uncountable
- 26 a point located with respect to surface features of some region wordnet
- 27 A state of mind. countable, uncountable
"I'm in a strange place at the moment."
- 28 a particular situation wordnet
- 29 A chess position; a square of the chessboard. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 30 proper or designated social situation wordnet
- 31 A responsibility or position in an organization.; A role or purpose; a station. countable, uncountable
"It is really not my place to say what is right and wrong in this case."
- 32 proper or appropriate position or location wordnet
- 33 A responsibility or position in an organization.; The position of a contestant in a competition. countable, uncountable
"We thought we would win but only ended up in fourth place."
- 34 A responsibility or position in an organization.; The position of first, second, or third at the finish, especially the second position. countable, uncountable
"to win a bet on a horse for place"
- 35 A responsibility or position in an organization.; The position as a member of a sports team. countable, uncountable
"He lost his place in the national team."
- 36 A fortified position: a fortress, citadel, or walled town. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 37 Numerically, the column counting a certain quantity. countable, uncountable
"three decimal places; the hundreds place"
- 38 Ordinal relation; position in the order of proceeding. countable, uncountable
"That's what I said in the first place!"
- 39 Reception; effect; implying the making room for. countable, uncountable
"My word hath no place in you."
Verb
- 1 To put (someone or something) in a specific location. transitive
"He placed the glass on the table."
- 2 recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something wordnet
- 3 To earn a given spot in a competition; to rank at a certain position ((often followed by an ordinal)). ergative
"The Cowboys placed third in the league."
- 4 assign a rank or rating to wordnet
- 5 To earn a given spot in a competition; to rank at a certain position ((often followed by an ordinal)).; To finish second, especially of horses or dogs. ergative, intransitive
"In the third race: Aces Up won, paying eight dollars; Blarney Stone placed, paying three dollars; and Cinnamon showed, paying five dollars."
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 take a place in a competition; often followed by an ordinal wordnet
- 7 To remember where and when (an object or person) has been previously encountered. transitive
"I've seen him before, but I can't quite place where."
- 8 estimate wordnet
- 9 To vouch for someone's alibi. transitive
"The librarian was placed at home by her neighbor at the time of the murder."
- 10 to arrange for wordnet
- 11 To sing (a note) with the correct pitch. transitive
- 12 sing a note with the correct pitch wordnet
- 13 To make. transitive
"We were all focused intently on the triangular conference call speaker in the middle of the table. President Trump's communications team was placing a call to President Volodymyr Zelenksy of Ukraine, and we were here to listen."
- 14 finish second or better in a horse or dog race wordnet
- 15 To bet. transitive
"I placed ten dollars on the Lakers beating the Bulls."
- 16 assign to a station wordnet
- 17 To recruit or match an appropriate person for a job, or a home for an animal for adoption, etc. transitive
"They phoned hoping to place her in the management team."
- 18 intend (something) to move towards a certain goal wordnet
- 19 To place-kick (a goal). transitive
- 20 put into a certain place or abstract location wordnet
- 21 To assign (more or less value) to something. transitive
"My workplace places a high premium on team spirit."
- 22 locate wordnet
- 23 make an investment wordnet
- 24 assign a location to wordnet
- 25 place somebody in a particular situation or location wordnet
- 26 assign to (a job or a home) wordnet
- 27 identify the location or place of wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community in the town of Farmington, Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. countable, uncountable
Example
"America is a lovely place to be, if you are here to earn money."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "place"?
Common synonyms include: position, spot, location, seat, situation, stead.
How do you use "place" in a sentence?
America is a lovely place to be, if you are here to earn money.
How do you pronounce "place"?
Pronounced /pleɪs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English place, conflation of Old English plæċe (“place, an open space, street”) and Old French place (“place, an open space”), both from Latin platea (“plaza, wide street”), from Ancient Greek πλατεῖα (plateîa), shortening of πλατεῖα ὁδός (plateîa hodós, “broad way”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“to spread”), extended form of *pleh₂- (“flat”). Displaced native Old English stōw, stede, and -ern. Compare also English pleck (“plot of ground”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot, location”), Dutch plek (“place, spot, patch”). Doublet of piatza, piazza, and plaza.
Etymology 2
From Middle English placen, from the noun (see above).