position
po·si·tion / pəˈzishən/ • n. 1. a place where someone or something is located or has been put: the distress call had given the ship's position Mrs. Snell had taken up her position on the bottom step of the stairs. ∎ the location where someone or something should be; the correct place: the lid was put into position and screwed down make sure that no slates have slipped out of position. ∎ (often positions) a place where part of a military force is posted for strategic purposes: the guns were shelling the German positions.2. a particular way in which someone or something is placed or arranged: he moved himself into a reclining position | a cramp forced her to change position. ∎ in a game of chess, the configuration of the pieces and pawns on the board at any point. ∎ Mus. a particular location of the hand on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument: be familiar with the first six positions across the four strings. ∎ Mus. a particular location of the slide of a trombone. ∎ Mus. the arrangement of the constituent notes of a chord.3. a situation or set of circumstances, esp. one that affects one's power to act: the company's financial position is grim | we felt we were not in a position to judge the merits of the case. ∎ a job: she retired from her position as marketing director. ∎ the state of being placed where one has an advantage over one's rivals in a competitive situation: his successors were already jockeying for position. ∎ a person's place or rank in relation to others, esp. in a competitive situation: he made up ground to finish in second position. ∎ high rank or social standing: a woman of supposed wealth and position. ∎ (in team games) a set of functions considered as the responsibility of a particular player based on the location in which they play: it gives every player a chance to play every fielding position.4. a person's particular point of view or attitude toward something: the official U.S. position on Palestine.5. an investor's net holdings in one or more markets at a particular time; the status of an individual or institutional trader's open contracts: traders were covering short positions.6. Logic a proposition laid down or asserted; a tenet or assertion.• v. [tr.] put or arrange (someone or something) in a particular place or way: he pulled out a chair and positioned it between them she positioned herself on a bench. ∎ promote (a product, service, or business) within a particular sector of a market, or as the fulfillment of that sector's specific requirements: a comprehensive development plan that will position the city as a major economic force in the region. ∎ [tr.] fig. portray or regard (someone) as a particular type of person: I had positioned her as my antagonist.
position
1. In the playing of str. instr., term used for specifying the moving of left hand up or down the finger-board so that the fingers may produce different sets of notes, e.g. first position, ‘nearest the pegs’, 2nd etc. progressively further from pegs.
2. How far the slide should be pushed out in tb. playing (first position is least extended).
3. Lay-out of a chord in harmony to determine which note comes at the bottom, so that one speaks of a chord in ‘root position’.