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• pose
  pose

  verb (used without object)

  to assume a particular attitude or stance, especially with the hope of impressing others.
• posé
  posé

  noun

  a movement in which the dancer steps, in any desired position, from one foot to the other with a straight knee onto the flat foot, demi-pointe, or pointe.

pose

¹ American  

[pohz] / poʊz /

verb (used without object)

posed, posing

1. to assume a particular attitude or stance, especially with the hope of impressing others.

   He likes to pose as an authority on literature.

2. to present oneself insincerely.

   He seems to be posing in all his behavior.

3. to assume or hold a physical attitude, as for an artistic purpose.

   to pose for a painter.

   Synonyms:

   model, sit

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verb (used with object)

posed, posing

1. to place in a suitable position or attitude for a picture, tableau, or the like.

   to pose a group for a photograph.

2. to assert, state, or put forward.

   That poses a difficult problem.

3. to put or place.

noun

• poses
  plural

1. a bodily attitude or posture.

   Her pose had a note of defiance in it.

2. a mental attitude or posture.

   a pose cultivated by the upper classes.

3. the act or period of posing, as for a picture.

4. a position or attitude assumed in posing, or exhibited by a figure in a picture, sculptural work, tableau, or the like.

5. a moment in which a dancer remains motionless, usually in an assumed posture.

6. a studied attitude; affectation.

   His liberalism is merely a pose.

pose ² American  

[pohz] / poʊz /

verb (used with object)

posed, posing

1. Archaic. to perplex or baffle, as by a difficult question or problem.

2. Obsolete. to examine by putting questions.

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posé ³ American  

[poh-zey, paw-zey] / poʊˈzeɪ, pɔˈzeɪ /

noun

Ballet.

• posés
  plural

1. a movement in which the dancer steps, in any desired position, from one foot to the other with a straight knee onto the flat foot, demi-pointe, or pointe.

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pose ¹ British  

/ pəʊz /

verb

1. to assume or cause to assume a physical attitude, as for a photograph or painting

2. to pretend to be or present oneself (as something one is not)

3. (intr) to affect an attitude or play a part in order to impress others

4. (tr) to put forward, ask, or assert

   to pose a question

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noun

1. a physical attitude, esp one deliberately adopted for or represented by an artist or photographer

2. a mode of behaviour that is adopted for effect

pose ² British  

/ pəʊz /

verb

1. rare to puzzle or baffle

2. archaic to question closely

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Usage

What is the basic definition of pose? Pose means to position your body in a particular way for a painting, picture, or similar situation. Pose also means the particular positioning you assume as part of posing. To pose also means to state or assert something. Pose has several other senses as a verb and a noun. When people pose, they arrange their body and face in a certain position for some reason. For example, people often pose for pictures by making a peace sign with their hand or blowing a kiss to the camera. Before cameras were invented, politicians and other important people would pose for portraits, which often involved remaining completely still for hours at a time. A person who poses is called a poser.

• Real-life examples: Supermodels will pose when they reach the end of a catwalk. People often pose in selfies that they then post on social media. It is thought that the woman who posed for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo.
• Used in a sentence: My family posed for a picture to use on a Christmas card. 

In this same sense, pose means a specific arrangement of the body and face that a person assumes for some reason.

• Real-life examples: Yoga involves positioning your body in a variety of poses. Many dance routines involve performing a variety of poses. Your mom likely wants you to have a nice pose for your school picture.
• Used in a sentence: The painting depicted the king in a very powerful pose.

As a verb, pose can also mean to assert, state, or put forward.

• Real-life examples: Reporters pose questions to people they are interviewing. An active volcano often poses problems to people who live nearby. A new job often poses many new challenges that a person must overcome.
• Used in a sentence: Pollution poses a threat to a healthy environment. 

Synonym Usage

See position.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• posable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• poses
  plural
• posés
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pose¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English verb posen, from Middle French poser, from Late Latin pausāre “to stop, cease, rest,” derivative of Latin pausa “stop, cessation” ( see pause); French poser has taken over the basic sense of Latin pōnere “to put, place” and represents it in French borrowings of its prefixed derivatives ( see compose, depose, etc.)

Origin of pose²

First recorded in 1520–30; shortening of obsolete appose, variant of oppose, used in sense of Latin appōnere “to put to”

Origin of posé³

First recorded in 1925–30; from French: “poised,” past participle of poser “to pose”; see pose ¹

Explanation

To pose is to assume a particular stance. Like a runway model strutting to the end of the catwalk, posing with her hands on her hips, and then gracefully walking back. The original meaning of pose from the 14th century is "to put in a certain position." The sense of pose as "to assume a certain attitude" emerged in the 1850’s. When a person poses, he presents himself in a particular way, often with the hope of impressing others. But if you're just posing objects, then the word loses the negative connotation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pose posé poses posed posing

For example, holding a yoga pose beyond your range of motion may injure your lower back, shoulders or knees.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Related parties have business or personal ties and transactions between them can have legitimate reasons, but they also pose potential conflicts of interest and require disclosure and typically extra regulatory scrutiny.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Mold can pose health risks for some groups of people, and is expensive to remediate.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Estimated natural-catastrophe losses in the insurance industry fell sharply in the first half of 2026, but wildfires and weather events still pose heightened risks, Swiss Re’s research arm said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Fighting the urge to argue, Otto did as told and took on a stiff pose, like a robot about to go jogging.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

He says Philippe, the coiffeur, has never left him, that it won't be his fault if my diadem is not perfectly posé, and that he plied him with beer all along the route.

From Letters of a Diplomat's Wife 1883-1900 by Mary King Waddington

If it be a question of mere pabulum, it is altogether mal posé.

From Life: Its True Genesis by R. W. Wright

No social posé has yet been attained; and each is too much absorbed in making good his general claims to consideration, to have leisure for the calmer enjoyments that might be snatched during the contest.

From The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 1, August, 1851 by Various

We have heard him say: "No, I will not claim the hat in that photograph, though I made it, because it is mal posé."

From Woman as Decoration by Emily Burbank

This poses a haunting dilemma for those in the capital.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

The biggest obstacles to President Trump’s order on vaccines may be the logistical challenges it poses for parents, health providers and drugmakers in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

The Scottish Prison Service says the current prison population is unsustainable, poses a significant risk to prisoners and staff and limits efforts to deliver rehabilitation.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The moment poses the question: Can she run this restaurant on her own?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

She lands on both feet and poses with her hands high in the air.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

A Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said the "illegal storage" of the pallets under the flyover posed a "significant fire safety risk" as there were gas mains under the tarmac.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

President Trump has announced a slate of tariffs to address the national-security threat posed by imports of drones and their components.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The record number of candidates also posed practical challenges, such as the need to use large tables to count ballot papers that measured a whopping 90cm in length.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

In under half a minute, the state’s theory asserts, Byrd and Roberts went from perceiving a genuine threat and returning fire to pursuing someone who no longer posed a danger.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Thomas Jefferson expressed this attitude in his Notes on the State of Virginia, a series of answers to questions about American life posed by a Frenchman.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

In 2024, the British government released a video of a phone call in which the then foreign minister David Cameron was duped by someone posing as former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

He researched online and emailed the company posing as an investor to learn more about the event, Mangione told the court.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

He told the judge that he had contacted the company before its annual investor conference, posing as an investor at a firm with $50 million in assets, the Journal reported.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Spend enough years standing behind pyramids of hamburgers, posing at fry stations and inserting yourself into the iconography of American restaurant chains, and eventually the props begin to accrue meanings of their own.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Magister Brangwain Spurge stood with dignity by the bed, as if posing for a statue of a conquering commander.

From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

Related Words

• mannerism
• mien
• posture