status

American  

[stey-tuhs, stat-uhs] / ˈsteɪ təs, ˈstæt əs /

noun

1. the position of an individual in relation to another or others, especially in regard to social or professional standing.

   Women in India have a lower status than men and therefore less control over money.

2. high social or professional standing; prestige.

   The Wilsons have status in the community because of their charitable work.

3. state or condition of affairs.

   Arbitration has failed to change the status of the disagreement.

4. Law. the standing of a person before the law.

   Those students can receive the same tax breaks as citizens, regardless of their status as immigrants.

5. Digital Technology. a short post on a social networking website or messaging application that gives information about the user’s present situation, activities, thoughts, etc..

   I changed my Facebook status from married to single.

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adjective

1. conferring or believed to confer elevated status.

   a status car; a status job.

status British  

/ ˈsteɪtəs /

noun

1. a social or professional position, condition, or standing to which varying degrees of responsibility, privilege, and esteem are attached

2. the relative position or standing of a person or thing

3. a high position or standing; prestige

   he has acquired a new status since he has been in that job

4. the legal standing or condition of a person

5. a state of affairs

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status Cultural  

1. The relative position of an individual within a group, or of a group within a society.

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Usage

Plural word for status The plural form of status is statuses (not stati). Even though status is derived from Latin, it isn’t pluralized by replacing the -us ending with -i, as is done in many other Latin-derived words ending in -us, such as cactus/cacti and fungus/fungi. Most words ending in -s, -ss, -ch, -sh, -x, and -o follow the conventional pluralization pattern of simply adding -es. However, several other words that end in -us are pluralized in the same way as status, including surplus/surpluses and census/censuses. Do you know: What is the plural of radius?

Related Words

See state.

Discover More

Though the term can refer to either high or low standing, it is often used only to imply a position of prestige.

Other Word Forms

• nonstatus
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of status

First recorded in 1665–75; from Latin: “the condition of standing, stature, status,” equivalent to sta- (variant stem of stāre “to stand”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; see origin at stand

Explanation

If someone wants to know the status of something, they want to know what condition it's in, where it is, or how much progress it's made. You've probably checked the status of your flight to see if it's on time or delayed. Status doesn't only apply to the state of flights, projects, and traffic jams — it also can be used to refer to a person's social standing or rank. In fact, status was first used in reference to someone's height, and later, their legal standing. Someone with VIP status gets to fly first class and probably has a bunch of photographers following them.

Example Sentences

Congress in 1990 authorized Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for noncitizens who could not safely return home because their native country was wracked by war, violence or natural disasters.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

He said he was seeking Temporary Protected Status in the United States at the time of his arrest, which would shield him from deportation, and was awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

She doesn’t know what to expect next from the federal government, but she’s concerned about revocations of Temporary Protected Status and other existing protections against deportation for immigrants.

From Salon • Mar. 2, 2026

“Does that sound like a nuclear renaissance to you?” said Mycle Schneider, who publishes the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, an annual look at nuclear energy activity worldwide.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

When it finally passed, I copied the contents of all five dossiers over to my flash drive, then opened the Mission Status folder.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• condition
• dignity
• place
• position
• prestige
• prominence
• quality
• rating
• situation
• stature