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• deposition
  deposition

  noun

  removal from an office or position.
• Deposition
  Deposition

  noun

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

deposition

American  

[dep-uh-zish-uhn, dee-puh-] / ˌdɛp əˈzɪʃ ən, ˌdi pə- /

noun

depositions plural

1. removal from an office or position.

2. the act or process of depositing.

   deposition of the documents with the Library of Congress.

3. the state of being deposited or precipitated.

   deposition of soil at the mouth of a river.

4. something that is deposited.

5. Law.

   1. the giving of testimony under oath.

   2. the testimony so given.

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

6. Ecclesiastical.

   1. the interment of the body of a saint.

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

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

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deposition ¹ British  

/ ˌdiːpə-, ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. law

   1. the giving of testimony on oath

   2. the testimony so given

   3. the sworn statement of a witness used in court in his absence

2. the act or instance of deposing

3. the act or an instance of depositing

4. something that is deposited; deposit

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Deposition ² British  

/ ˌdiːpə-, ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

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

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deposition Scientific  

/ dĕp′ə-zĭsh′ən /

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Compare sublimation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• depositional
  adjective
• postdepositional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• depositions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of deposition

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin dēpositiōn-, stem of dēpositiō “a putting aside, testimony, burial,” equivalent to Latin dēposit(us) “laid down” ( see deposit) + -iō -ion

Explanation

A deposition is a statement made in court. A deposition can be made outside of court, too — after a crime, a witness might give a deposition. Then that written or recorded deposition can be used as evidence in the courtroom. The word deposition is often used in a legal context, but a deposition can also be more like a deposit, as in the deposition of sediment on the bottom of a lake. And in the sense of depose, a deposition can refer to getting rid of a person of authority. The deposition of a king is the same thing as a dethronement. Deposition is a busy word, but it’s most often used in court.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deposition Deposition depositions

The excerpts come from Cooper’s March 19, 2025, deposition, which surfaced last month in a court filing by attorneys representing Drakeo’s family in a civil lawsuit against festival organizers and security contractors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

A separate hearing to consider Pitt’s request to compel Shefler’s deposition is scheduled for July 8.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

The House of Representatives Oversight Committee issued two subpoenas for Black to share NDAs and give an on-camera deposition under oath.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

A memoir is a subjective pact with an audience, not a deposition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

The deposition concluded with my return weekend to the Moss trailer.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Deposition rates are still lower than those of solvent-based research production.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2024

That covers loans associated with the Federal Deposition Insurance Corporation's work to deal with several high-profile bank failures that kicked off in March and spurred broad fears about the state of the banking system.

From Reuters ● May 4, 2023

Deposition testimony released Tuesday showed Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corp., did not buy into any of the theories pushed by Trump’s legal representatives and surrogates on his conservative news network.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2023

Deposition prep with Passantino seemed confined less to reviewing the facts than to instructing the witness in the art of declining to disclose them.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2022

Deposition was one of those words that you always think you know the meaning of until you are asked to define it.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

The investigation, opened by Justice Department prosecutors, seeks to determine if Carroll lied under oath during several depositions against Trump, CNN and The New York Times reported.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

According to court documents filed on June 17, a California judge approved a request from Pitt’s legal team to compel depositions from individuals connected to the Stoli Group.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

He said that Dhillon would not have been able to represent Bondi if her testimony was provided in a deposition because the committee’s rules prevent agency lawyers from attending depositions.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

In the Posillico lawsuit, DHS moved to seal documents in the case, including any depositions or affidavits; Judge David A. Tapp signed off on the motion.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

When Judge Joseph Wapner, most famous for being the judge on The People’s Court television show, ended up refereeing the depositions, Moore figured no one would take the case seriously.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Related Words

• affidavit
• allegation
• announcement
• evidence
• testimony