status

American  

[stey-tuhs, stat-uhs] / ˈsteɪ təs, ˈstæt əs /

noun

statuses plural

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.

3. state or condition of affairs.

   Arbitration has failed to change the status of the disagreement.

4. 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.

5. 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.

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adjective

1. conferring or believed to confer elevated status.

   a status car; a status job.

status British  

/ ˈsteɪtəs /

noun

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

3. a high position or standing; prestige

   he has acquired a new status since he has been in that job

4. the legal standing or condition of a person

5. a state of affairs

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status Cultural  

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

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Usage

Plural word for status The plural form of status is statuses (not stati). Even though status is derived from Latin, it isn’t pluralized by replacing the -us ending with -i, as is done in many other Latin-derived words ending in -us, such as cactus/cacti and fungus/fungi. Most words ending in -s, -ss, -ch, -sh, -x, and -o follow the conventional pluralization pattern of simply adding -es. However, several other words that end in -us are pluralized in the same way as status, including surplus/surpluses and census/censuses. Do you know: What is the plural of radius?

Synonym Usage

See state.

Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonstatus
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• statuses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of status

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

Explanation

If someone wants to know the status of something, they want to know what condition it's in, where it is, or how much progress it's made. You've probably checked the status of your flight to see if it's on time or delayed. Status doesn't only apply to the state of flights, projects, and traffic jams — it also can be used to refer to a person's social standing or rank. In fact, status was first used in reference to someone's height, and later, their legal standing. Someone with VIP status gets to fly first class and probably has a bunch of photographers following them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

status statuses

Chess is booming worldwide, with sky-high audience figures driving big sponsorship deals and celebrity status for players such as Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The Pan American Health Organization is scheduled to determine in November whether the U.S. has lost its measles-elimination status.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The notice did not detail the reason that Cleland’s status was revoked.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

International experts are set to meet later this year to decide whether the U.S. should lose its elimination status.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

But his anxieties about class and status were so deep that he could not bear the thought that his own “intelligence” might merely be the by-product of privilege and opportunity.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Nearly four million households in the U.S. include a mix of legal statuses, with at least one resident living in the country unlawfully and at least one other here lawfully, such as a U.S. citizen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

But as Nelson delegated the task of investigating those voters’ statuses to local election officials, confusion took hold.

From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2026

Real income has risen for people across all age brackets and marital statuses, and as more women entered the workforce, men did not lose out.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2025

"The individuals arrested during the operation were found to be working illegally, in violation of the terms of their visas and/or statuses," the statement added.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2025

His statuses didn’t provide much context about his life, only that he’d been a loner who preferred runs with his golden retriever Turbo instead of social outings with his classmates.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

Related Words

• condition
• dignity
• place
• position
• prestige
• prominence
• quality
• rating
• situation
• stature