place

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noun [countable] American English pronunciation: place

/pleɪs/

singular	place
plural	places

1
an area, or a position
I don’t like crowded places.
Let’s find a quiet place where we can talk.
Keep your credit cards in a safe place.
Will had broken his jaw in three places.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
1. a.
  the position where someone or something is, or where it should be
  She put the book back in its place.
  Cara walked back to her place and sat down.
  into place (=into the correct position):
  She shut the door and slid the bolt into place.
  The mechanism locked into place.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2
a particular town, country, building, store, etc.
They live in a small place called Hunter’s Gap.
With a little work this place could look lovely.
This is the only place that sells this type of candy.
The trip includes a visit to the Hall of Fame and other places of interest.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
1. a.
  an area, building, or space that is used for or appropriate for a particular purpose
  a popular eating place
  place for:
  Cyprus is a great place for a vacation.
  place to do something:
  Is this a safe place to swim?
  I always thought Italy would be a great place to live.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2. b.
  a house, apartment, etc. for living in
  They’ve bought a lovely little place in Aspen.
  your/my/her etc. place:
  Let’s have the party at my place.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
3
an opportunity to be a member of a sports team or to take part in a game or competition
win/secure/earn/clinch a place:
Jones has earned a place on the Olympic team.
Capriati clinched a place in the semifinals with that win.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
1. a.
  British an opportunity to join a school, college, course, etc.
  Places for children in day care are scarce in some parts of the country.
  Course organizers are hoping that all the places will be filled.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2. b.
  an opportunity to be part of an organization or business
  place on:
  She was offered a place on the committee.
  They’re looking for someone to fill Jackson’s place on the management team.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
4
a seat on a train or bus, in a theater, etc., or a position in a line
There’s no place to sit.
lose your place:
I had to go to the bathroom, so I lost my place in line.
save/keep someone’s place:
Would you mind saving my place for a minute?
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
5
the position that you achieve in a race or competition
After a good performance at Wimbledon, she jumped six places in the world rankings.
first/second etc. place:
Right now the Islanders are tied with Buffalo for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Rafferty completed his round in 69, to take third place at the halfway stage.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
6
the right occasion, or the right time for something
This isn’t the place to talk about the subject.
neither the time nor the place:
This is neither the time nor the place to discuss our relationship.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
7
the point that you have reached in a book, speech, etc.
He marked his place with a piece of paper.
lose your place:
I lost my place (=forgot what I was saying) when he interrupted me.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
8
[usually singular] the importance that someone or something has in people’s lives or in their minds
The house will always have a place in our hearts.
a discussion about the place of soap operas in popular culture
someone’s place in history:
De Klerk secured his place in history by releasing Mandela and starting the process of change.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
9
the set of dishes, knives, forks, and spoons arranged on a table for one person to use
a table set with three places
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place

phrases

all over the place
1. 1
  in or to many different places
  I travel all over the place in my job.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2. 2
  in a messy state
  You couldn’t find anything because his papers were all over the place.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
3. 3
  British not well planned or organized
  Their taxation plans, frankly, are all over the place.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
as if you own the place
if someone behaves as if they own the place, they behave in an annoying way that shows they think they are very important
Richard was strutting around as if he owned the place.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
be no place for
to not be an appropriate place for someone or something
A damp climate is no place for someone with asthma.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
change/swap/trade places (with someone)
to take someone’s position while they take yours
I’d love to swap places with someone famous, just for a day.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
fall/fit into place
1. 1
  if something falls or fits into place, you suddenly understand something that you previously have been unable to understand
  It all fell into place when I learned he’d been to New York that weekend.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2. 2
  if things fall or fit into place, they start to happen in the way that you want them to
  After weeks of total chaos, suddenly everything just fell into place.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
going places
starting to be successful
a company that is really going places
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
have no place
to not be appropriate or right in a particular situation
She believed that religious teaching had no place in the school curriculum.
there is no place for...:
There’s no place for sentiment when you’re negotiating a business deal.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
in place
1. 1
  to exist and be capable of being used
  We didn’t have the systems in place to deal with so many orders.
  A staff of four counselors is in place to handle calls to the new hotline.
  put something in place:
  We need to put safeguards in place to prevent this type of accident from occurring again.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2. 2
  in the correct position
  The chairs were not yet in place for the concert.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
3. 3
  American without leaving the position that you are in. The British expression is on the spot
  We had to run in place for five minutes.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
in someone’s place
used for talking about what you would do if you were in the same situation as someone else
Wouldn’t you do the same if you were in Bill’s place?
put yourself in someone’s place (=imagine what a situation is like for someone):
If you think you’ve got problems, put yourself in my place.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
in place of
or in something’s place
instead of something or someone
The idea was to abandon the communist model, and create a market economy in its place.
In place of ordinary light bulbs, you could use fluorescent lamps.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
in places
in some areas but not all areas
The wall was damaged in places.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
out of place
1. 1
  if someone feels out of place or is out of place, they feel uncomfortable in a particular situation or place, or they do not belong there
  I felt very out of place among Helen’s high-class friends.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2. 2
  if something looks out of place, it is in a position where it does not belong or look good
  It’s a lovely table but it would look out of place with all our antique furniture.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
3. 3
  in the wrong position
  Mel looked immaculate with not even a hair out of place.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
place of work/business/residence
formal
the area where you work/have your business/live
He lives in a studio apartment near his place of work.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
place of worship
formal
a church or other building where people hold religious ceremonies
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
take someone’s place
or take the place of someone
to do something instead of someone else
No one could ever take the place of her father.
Joe resigned as chairperson in 1999 and I took his place.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
take something’s place
or take the place of something
to be used instead of something else
DVD systems are rapidly taking the place of VCRs.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
take your place
1. 1
  to go to a particular position so that you are ready to do something
  Bjorn took his place at the microphone.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place
2. 2
  to become part of a particular group of people or things
  The restaurant has taken its place among the finest eating establishments in the city.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of place

This is the American English definition of place. View British English definition of place.

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vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

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place

What are red words?

Thesaurus

Related dictionary definitions

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phrases

all over the place

as if you own the place

be no place for

change/swap/trade places (with someone)

fall/fit into place

going places

have no place

in place

in someone’s place

in place of

or in something’s place

in places

out of place

place of work/business/residence

place of worship

take someone’s place

or take the place of someone

take something’s place

or take the place of something

take your place

vocal fry

Word of the Day

watchword

conflict mineral