station

American  

[stay-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, 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 main hall of Kyiv’s central train station buzzes with activity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Boateng, a 61-year-old pastor at Gospel Light church, has been preaching on commercial vehicles leaving Neoplan station since 2023.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Previous disruption to subway services during air raids forced her to spend the night in a metro station near the Southern Bridge.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

“When schools are destroyed, when bus shelters are targeted, when transport is attacked, we seek the civil liability of the parents,” Darmanin told local radio station RTL.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

I biked to Bos en Hoven Straat and then with Flip and the children who happened to be at home, hurried to the Haarlem station.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Government offices and police stations had been left without security personnel.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

Concierge service is available 24 hours a day, and common areas include a fitness center, an entertainment lounge, children’s playroom, dog spa, and a rooftop terrace outfitted with grilling stations.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

In New York, diesel futures have recently fetched roughly double the price of crude, with spreads far exceeding any previously recorded levels, boosting wholesale costs for gas stations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Ahead of the conference, Millward did a round of interviews with local BBC radio stations across England.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

There were twenty cook stations, each as big as his entire kitchen.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Ban Keun could be used as a "convenient stopover" for China's air force, and Chinese personnel may be stationed there, he added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

She is stationed in the major cases unit, focusing on capital homicide litigation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

While stationed in the area, Oppenheimer was constantly looking for work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Astronauts on those journeys may spend far more time away from Earth's gravity than crews currently stationed aboard the International Space Station.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Instantly, eight winged creatures appeared on the screen, one stationed in front of each player.

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

Imagine the hospital responded by stationing security guards outside the sliding doors to prevent patients from entering.

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026

As part of the response, the US is stationing dogs capable of sniffing out screwworms at the borders.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

European officials said at the time that they expected negotiations with the U.S. to focus on stationing forces at bases in Greenland and expanded European efforts to boost security around the Arctic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026

During the Cold War, the U.S. considered stationing nuclear missiles under the ice sheet in Greenland — and never told Greenlanders or Denmark about the secret project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

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