station

American  

[stey-shuhn] / ˈsteɪ ʃən /

noun

• stations
  plural

1. a place or position in which a person or thing is normally located.

   Synonyms:

   location, situation

2. a stopping place for trains or other land conveyances, for the transfer of freight or passengers.

3. the building or buildings at such a stopping place.

   Synonyms:

   terminal, depot

4. the district or municipal headquarters of certain public services.

   police station; fire station; postal station.

5. a place equipped for some particular kind of work, service, research, or the like.

   gasoline station; geophysical station.

6. the position, as of persons or things, in a scale of estimation, rank, or dignity; standing.

   the responsibility of persons of high station.

7. a position, office, rank, calling, or the like.

   Synonyms:

   employment, business, trade, occupation

8. Radio and Television.

   1. a studio or building from which broadcasts originate.

   2. a person or organization originating and broadcasting messages or programs.

   3. a specific frequency or band of frequencies assigned to a regular or special broadcaster.

      Tune to the Civil Defense station.

   4. the complete equipment used in transmitting and receiving broadcasts.

9. Military.

   1. a military place of duty.

   2. a semipermanent army post.

10. Navy. a place or region to which a ship or fleet is assigned for duty.

11. (formerly in India) the area in which the British officials of a district or the officers of a garrison resided.

12. Biology. a particular area or type of region where a given animal or plant is found.

13. Australian. a ranch with its buildings, land, etc., especially for raising sheep.

14. Surveying.

    1. Also called set-up.  Also called instrument station,.  a point where an observation is taken.

    2. a precisely located reference point.

    3. a length of 100 feet (30 meters) along a survey line.

15. a section or area assigned to a waiter, soldier, etc.; post.

    The waiter says this isn't his station.

16. stations of the cross.

17. Archaic. the fact or condition of standing still.

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verb (used with object)

• stations,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stationed,
  past participle,  past
• stationing
  present participle

1. to assign a station to; place or post in a station or position.

   Synonyms:

   fix, set, establish, locate, position

station British  

/ ˈsteɪʃən /

noun

1. the place or position at which a thing or person stands or is supposed to stand

2. 1. a place along a route or line at which a bus, train, etc, stops for fuel or to pick up or let off passengers or goods, esp one with ancillary buildings and services

      railway station

   2. ( as modifier )

      a station buffet

3. 1. the headquarters or local offices of an official organization such as the police or fire services

   2. ( as modifier ) See police station fire station

      a station sergeant

4. a building, depot, etc, with special equipment for some particular purpose

   power station

   petrol station

   television station

5. military a place of duty

   an action station

6. navy

   1. a location to which a ship or fleet is assigned for duty

   2. an assigned location for a member of a ship's crew

7. a radio or television channel

8. a position or standing, as in a particular society or organization

9. the type of one's occupation; calling

10. (in British India) a place where the British district officials or garrison officers resided

11. biology the type of habitat occupied by a particular animal or plant

12. a large sheep or cattle farm

13. surveying a point at which a reading is made or which is used as a point of reference

14. (often capital) RC Church

    1. one of the Stations of the Cross

    2. any of the churches ( station churches ) in Rome that have been used from ancient times as points of assembly for religious processions and ceremonies on particular days ( station days )

15. (plural) (in rural Ireland) mass, preceded by confessions, held annually in a parishioner's dwelling and attended by other parishioners

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verb

1. (tr) to place in or assign to a station

Synonym Usage

See appointment.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• restation
  verb (used with object)
• unstation
  verb (used with object)
• interstation
  adjective
• stational
  adjective
• unstationed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stations
  plural

Participles

• stationing
  present
• stationed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• station
  simple
• stations
  simple
• have stationed
  perfect
• has stationed
  perfect
• am stationing
  progressive
• are stationing
  progressive
• is stationing
  progressive
• have been stationing
  perfect progressive
• has been stationing
  perfect progressive

Past

• stationed
  simple
• had stationed
  perfect
• was stationing
  progressive
• were stationing
  progressive
• had been stationing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will station
  simple
• will have stationed
  perfect
• will be stationing
  progressive
• will have been stationing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of station

1350–1400; < Latin statiōn- (stem of statiō ) a standing still, standing-place, equivalent to stat ( us ) (past participle of stāre to stand ) + -iōn- -ion; replacing Middle English stacioun < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Explanation

A station is a regular stopping place, like a bus station, a train station, or even a radio station. To understand all the jobs the word station has, check out its past — station comes from the Latin stationem for "a job or position," via the word stare which means "to stand.” A station can be where trains “stand,” or a police station where police do their job. Your station in life is your social place. It’s also a verb — like when the military stations troops to protect a border.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

station stations stationed stationing

The lawsuit seeks emergency relief to stop the agency’s early renewal proceeding and any resulting threat against ABC’s station licenses.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Their idea soon developed from a local station showing Connecticut sports to state residents to a larger 24-hour national sports network.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Free shuttles exist so students and folks who work on campus can get there from the train station or travel between classes or meetings efficiently.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Speaking from the scene, station commander Duncan Rees said: "Crews are working hard in difficult conditions to bring the fire under control."

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Children with TB are immediately expelled from school and sent to the nearest health station.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The lawsuit involves eight Disney-owned ABC stations whose license renewals were moved up years ahead of schedule.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

The need for R&R is especially dire during wartime, when their stations take on life-and-death intensity.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

Costco has been trying to find new ways to increase sales and make its membership more valuable to shoppers, including with a growing foray into stand-alone gas stations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country's defences, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

In the darkness between stations, I catalog the trip—lion’s paw, new books, time in the comfy chair.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

North Korea has historically sought a drawdown of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea, a removal of American nuclear weapons from the region and a normalization of diplomatic ties with Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The dreadful conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Navy aircraft carrier stationed near Iran for nine months, have been widely reported.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

Snack baskets were also stationed in the cabin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

About 28,500 American military personnel are stationed in South Korea.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

“You’ll carry messages between the various departments and it often calls for a swift stride. You’ll be stationed in the center of the Park.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Now when he does his homework like he did this spring, stationing himself in front of a pitching machine, calling out balls and strikes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

During World War II, the U.S. took military control of Greenland by stationing troops there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026

In recent weeks, masked federal agents have raided car washes and other businesses in Southern California, even stationing themselves outside Dodger Stadium.

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2025

This allegedly included the stationing of military personnel and weapons.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2024

We ended up stationing Styx in the flowerbed outside our bedroom.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

• depot
• house
• location
• site
• terminal