status

[ stey-tuhs, stat-uhs ]
See synonyms for status on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the position of an individual in relation to another or others, especially in regard to social or professional standing: Women in India have a lower status than men and therefore less control over money.

  2. high social or professional standing; prestige: The Wilsons have status in the community because of their charitable work.

  1. state or condition of affairs: Arbitration has failed to change the status of the disagreement.

  2. Law. the standing of a person before the law: Those students can receive the same tax breaks as citizens, regardless of their status as immigrants.

  3. Digital Technology. a short post on a social networking website or messaging application that gives information about the user’s present situation, activities, thoughts, etc.: I changed my Facebook status from married to single.

adjective
  1. conferring or believed to confer elevated status: a status car; a status job.

Origin of status

1
First recorded in 1665–75; from Latin: “the condition of standing, stature, status,” equivalent to sta- (variant stem of stāre “to stand”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; see origin at stand

synonym study For status

3. See state.

Other words from status

  • non·sta·tus, adjective

Words Nearby status

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use status in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for status

status

/ (ˈsteɪtəs) /


nounplural -tuses
  1. a social or professional position, condition, or standing to which varying degrees of responsibility, privilege, and esteem are attached

  2. the relative position or standing of a person or thing

  1. a high position or standing; prestige: he has acquired a new status since he has been in that job

  2. the legal standing or condition of a person

  3. a state of affairs

Origin of status

1
C17: from Latin: posture, from stāre to stand

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for status

status

The relative position of an individual within a group, or of a group within a society.

Notes for status

Though the term can refer to either high or low standing, it is often used only to imply a position of prestige.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.