deposition

[ dep-uh-zish-uh n, dee-puh- ]

/ ˌdɛp əˈzɪʃ ən, ˌdi pə- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deposition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

removal from an office or position.

the act or process of depositing: deposition of the documents with the Library of Congress.

the state of being deposited or precipitated: deposition of soil at the mouth of a river.

something that is deposited.

Law.

the giving of testimony under oath.
the testimony so given.
a statement under oath, taken down in writing, to be used in court in place of the spoken testimony of the witness.

Ecclesiastical.

the interment of the body of a saint.
the reinterment of the body or the relics of a saint.

(initial capital letter) a work of art depicting Christ being lowered from the Cross.

Nearby words

deposit, deposit account, deposit money, deposit slip, depositary, deposition, depositor, depository, depository library, depot, depot injection

Origin of deposition

1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Late Latin dēpositiōn- (stem of dēpositiō) a putting aside, testimony, burial, equivalent to Latin dēposit(us) laid down (see deposit) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

dep·o·si·tion·al, adjectivepost·dep·o·si·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deposition

Also, at the time of his deposition Thicke had been off of pills for two months, because his wife left him in February.
Hey, Hey, Hey Robin Thicke Was Too Vicodin Wasted to Really Write ‘Blurred Lines’|Amy Zimmerman|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Evans used a “pressure point control technique,” one of the officers testified in his deposition.
I Was Beaten By Chicago’s Dirtiest Cop, Lawsuit Contends|Justin Glawe|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A brief bio is to be found in a deposition she gave in the criminal case before the felony charge was dropped.
From Ferguson Cop Embroiled in a Brutality Suit to City Councilwoman|Michael Daly|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the time of the second deposition, Tihen had been in office for more than a year.
From Ferguson Cop Embroiled in a Brutality Suit to City Councilwoman|Michael Daly|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In a deposition given under hypnosis two years later, he remembered that he “woke up, saw my death, and looked around.”
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No doubt he knew the exact age of the man as well as I did, but it was not for him to have hastened his deposition.
The Fixed Period|Anthony Trollope
It was a reversion to the old right of election, and to the precedent set in the deposition of Edward II.
A Student's History of England, v. 1 (of 3)|Samuel R. Gardiner.
I thank you, replied I; listen, therefore, to the deposition that I have to make.
Frankenstein|Mary Shelley
And, did you and I talk for a few minutes about the type of questions I would be asking you during this deposition?
Warren Commission (6 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
They got his deposition, because the boy, I know, put his scope on his rifle for him.
Warren Commission (10 of 26): Hearings Vol. X (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for deposition (1 of 2)

deposition

/ (ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən, ˌdiːpə-) /

noun

law

the giving of testimony on oath
the testimony so given
the sworn statement of a witness used in court in his absence

the act or instance of deposing

the act or an instance of depositing

something that is deposited; deposit

Word Origin for deposition

C14: from Late Latin dēpositiō a laying down, disposal, burying, testimony

British Dictionary definitions for deposition (2 of 2)

Deposition

/ (ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən, ˌdiːpə-) /

noun

the taking down of Christ's body from the Cross or a representation of this

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for deposition

deposition

[ dĕp′ə-zĭsh′ən ]

The accumulation or laying down of matter by a natural process, as the laying down of sediments in a river or the accumulation of mineral deposits in a bodily organ.

The process of changing from a gas to a solid without passing through an intermediate liquid phase. Carbon dioxide, at a pressure of one atmosphere, undergoes deposition at about -78 degrees Celsius. Compare sublimation.