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

It was towards the end of last year that a woman in her late thirties walked into a Glasgow police station to report a crime.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

“The Commission had not demanded early renewal in over five decades,” Disney’s WABC-TV station, based in New York, wrote in a May filing with the commission.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Austria will formally open a new police station on Wednesday in Adolf Hitler's former house, in the hope of deterring today's ascendant far-right extremists from making the pilgrimage to the Nazi dictator's birthplace.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Not everyone is happy with the decision to open a police station there, saying it sends the wrong signal.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Chase joked that he should become a meteorologist for a local television station.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

One landmark decision allowed Exxon to pursue claims that it owned refineries and gas stations seized by Cuba’s government, rejecting a sovereign-immunity defense by Cuba’s state-run conglomerate CIMEX.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The two bottled water stations that reopened on Sunday are at Tesco Superstore on Pembury Road and Tunbridge Wells Rugby Club.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Consumers bypassing or canceling their cable subscriptions are cutting into the fees stations receive from pay TV providers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Voters in the Atlantic archipelago of Sao Tome and Principe, regarded as a model of democracy in Africa, will head to polling stations on Sunday for the presidential election.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

All seven of them had settled in at collaboration stations to pore through the paper airplane book.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Images from the scene showed a police cordon in place on a residential street, with a forensics unit stationed next to a red tent.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

The pros included a vast support network of friends and neighbors, 24/7 security guards stationed at the entrance gate, and scenic lakes, swimming pools and tennis courts throughout her development.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

First, move any mobile assets in Western Europe east of the Rhine River, including many now stationed near its headquarters in Brussels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Despite the withdrawal, US military personnel stationed in Nigeria before the Lake Chad Basin operation have remained in the country, military spokesperson Major General Samaila Uba told the BBC.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Paul told Nate that he’d been in the army for more than eighteen months, and stationed here in New York City since May.

From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

They proposed stationing key aircraft during a conflict in the western part of the kingdom, a safer distance away from Tehran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

Parents started to set up school patrols, stationing volunteers in the parking lot and in their neighborhoods to make sure kids, families and staff could come and go to school safely.

From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2026

Pratt wonders if there are creative solutions, such as bolstering the sheep population by bringing in animals raised elsewhere or stationing guard dogs around the herds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

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

It was George who had the idea of stationing Stuart inside the piano to push the key up the second it was played.

From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White

Related Words

• depot
• house
• location
• site
• terminal