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• pose
  pose

  verb (used without object)

  to assume a particular attitude or stance, especially with the hope of impressing others.
• posé
  posé

  noun

  a movement in which the dancer steps, in any desired position, from one foot to the other with a straight knee onto the flat foot, demi-pointe, or pointe.

pose

¹ American  

[pohz] / poʊz /

verb (used without object)

posed, posing

1. to assume a particular attitude or stance, especially with the hope of impressing others.

   He likes to pose as an authority on literature.

2. to present oneself insincerely.

   He seems to be posing in all his behavior.

3. to assume or hold a physical attitude, as for an artistic purpose.

   to pose for a painter.

   Synonyms:

   model, sit

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verb (used with object)

posed, posing

1. to place in a suitable position or attitude for a picture, tableau, or the like.

   to pose a group for a photograph.

2. to assert, state, or put forward.

   That poses a difficult problem.

3. to put or place.

noun

• poses
  plural

1. a bodily attitude or posture.

   Her pose had a note of defiance in it.

2. a mental attitude or posture.

   a pose cultivated by the upper classes.

3. the act or period of posing, as for a picture.

4. a position or attitude assumed in posing, or exhibited by a figure in a picture, sculptural work, tableau, or the like.

5. a moment in which a dancer remains motionless, usually in an assumed posture.

6. a studied attitude; affectation.

   His liberalism is merely a pose.

pose ² American  

[pohz] / poʊz /

verb (used with object)

posed, posing

1. Archaic. to perplex or baffle, as by a difficult question or problem.

2. Obsolete. to examine by putting questions.

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posé ³ American  

[poh-zay, paw-zay] / poʊˈzeɪ, pɔˈzeɪ /

noun

Ballet.

• posés
  plural

1. a movement in which the dancer steps, in any desired position, from one foot to the other with a straight knee onto the flat foot, demi-pointe, or pointe.

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pose ¹ British  

/ pəʊz /

verb

1. to assume or cause to assume a physical attitude, as for a photograph or painting

2. to pretend to be or present oneself (as something one is not)

3. (intr) to affect an attitude or play a part in order to impress others

4. (tr) to put forward, ask, or assert

   to pose a question

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noun

1. a physical attitude, esp one deliberately adopted for or represented by an artist or photographer

2. a mode of behaviour that is adopted for effect

pose ² British  

/ pəʊz /

verb

1. rare to puzzle or baffle

2. archaic to question closely

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Usage

What is the basic definition of pose? Pose means to position your body in a particular way for a painting, picture, or similar situation. Pose also means the particular positioning you assume as part of posing. To pose also means to state or assert something. Pose has several other senses as a verb and a noun. When people pose, they arrange their body and face in a certain position for some reason. For example, people often pose for pictures by making a peace sign with their hand or blowing a kiss to the camera. Before cameras were invented, politicians and other important people would pose for portraits, which often involved remaining completely still for hours at a time. A person who poses is called a poser.

• Real-life examples: Supermodels will pose when they reach the end of a catwalk. People often pose in selfies that they then post on social media. It is thought that the woman who posed for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo.
• Used in a sentence: My family posed for a picture to use on a Christmas card. 

In this same sense, pose means a specific arrangement of the body and face that a person assumes for some reason.

• Real-life examples: Yoga involves positioning your body in a variety of poses. Many dance routines involve performing a variety of poses. Your mom likely wants you to have a nice pose for your school picture.
• Used in a sentence: The painting depicted the king in a very powerful pose.

As a verb, pose can also mean to assert, state, or put forward.

• Real-life examples: Reporters pose questions to people they are interviewing. An active volcano often poses problems to people who live nearby. A new job often poses many new challenges that a person must overcome.
• Used in a sentence: Pollution poses a threat to a healthy environment. 

Synonym Usage

See position.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• posable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• poses
  plural
• posés
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of pose¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English verb posen, from Middle French poser, from Late Latin pausāre “to stop, cease, rest,” derivative of Latin pausa “stop, cessation” ( see pause); French poser has taken over the basic sense of Latin pōnere “to put, place” and represents it in French borrowings of its prefixed derivatives ( see compose, depose, etc.)

Origin of pose²

First recorded in 1520–30; shortening of obsolete appose, variant of oppose, used in sense of Latin appōnere “to put to”

Origin of posé³

First recorded in 1925–30; from French: “poised,” past participle of poser “to pose”; see pose ¹

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Explanation

To pose is to assume a particular stance. Like a runway model strutting to the end of the catwalk, posing with her hands on her hips, and then gracefully walking back. The original meaning of pose from the 14th century is "to put in a certain position." The sense of pose as "to assume a certain attitude" emerged in the 1850’s. When a person poses, he presents himself in a particular way, often with the hope of impressing others. But if you're just posing objects, then the word loses the negative connotation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pose posé poses posed posing

A stagnant or even shrinking labor force might pose concrete danger in the long run.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma warned that large-language AI models hiring Palantir employees could pose an existential threat to the company.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Yet it also says AI may pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

"Sufficiently advanced AI systems could, if not developed, deployed, and operated with appropriate safeguards, oversight, and security measures, pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity," Anthropic said.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

A photographer got them all to hold up their signs and pose around me.

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

No social posé has yet been attained; and each is too much absorbed in making good his general claims to consideration, to have leisure for the calmer enjoyments that might be snatched during the contest.

From The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 1, August, 1851 by Various

We have heard him say: "No, I will not claim the hat in that photograph, though I made it, because it is mal posé."

From Woman as Decoration by Emily Burbank

If it be a question of mere pabulum, it is altogether mal posé.

From Life: Its True Genesis by R. W. Wright

He says Philippe, the coiffeur, has never left him, that it won't be his fault if my diadem is not perfectly posé, and that he plied him with beer all along the route.

From Letters of a Diplomat's Wife 1883-1900 by Mary King Waddington

The company has a formula that assesses how much of a credit risk each of us poses, and it licenses it to the big three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026

Lloyds has a higher loan-to-deposit ratio, which poses a challenge in a competitive deposit environment, the analysts note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

All of it boils down to simple questions Gibney poses at the film’s outset: How could Musk assume so much power, and why have we given it to him?

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

But leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic have warned that the technology’s fast development poses serious risks to jobs and human existence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

According to McGrayne, as late as February 2001 Ethyl continued to contend "that research has failed to show that leaded gasoline poses a threat to human health or the environment."

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya says it's a huge challenge to deal with the risk posed by the Seti Gandaki River, which stems from the Annapurna mountain range and flows right through the city.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

The philosophy professor posed big questions to the 90 students gathered in Boylston Hall: “Why did Austen create such an unlikable heroine?” she asked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

He insisted he only posed the question to the Vulins because they were walking their infant through an area of West Hollywood lined with nightclubs and bars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

The success of DeepSeek has galvanised China's AI scene, despite hurdles posed by rivalry with the United States and fears of a global market bubble.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

But the bride keeps the guests in suspense by not answering the question until the third time it’s been posed.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

If someone said, “act like you’re terrible at posing for photos,” I don’t know what I would do.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

According to the Sun, the letter was sent to a Met Police unit tasked with dealing with individuals posing a threat to Royals and politicians - the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

“That’s posing some questions around ‘If rates keep going higher, how much more can these companies borrow?’”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Translation: This Vision has a purpose beyond figuring out his role in this world, something he put off by hiding in a pub under the alias of Sherwood Ellis and posing as human.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

It’s easier on the model than posing for a painting, holding the same position for hours at a time.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

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Related Words

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