noun
- a square or court in a city
- a short street, often closed at one end
- space; room
- a particular area or locality; region
- the part of space occupied by a person or thing
- situation or state: if I were in his place
- a city, town, or village
- a residence; dwelling; house and grounds
- a building or space devoted to a special purpose: a place of amusement
- a particular spot on or part of the body or a surface: a sore place on the leg
- a particular passage or page in a book, magazine, etc., esp. the point where one has temporarily stopped reading: to mark one's place
- position or standing, esp. one of importance, accorded to one: one's place in history
- a step or point in a sequence: in the first place
- the customary, proper, or natural position, time, or character
- a space used, reserved, or customarily occupied by a person, as a seat in a theater, at a table, etc.
- an office; employment; position
- official position
- the duties of any position
- the duty, or business (of a person)
- in racing, the first, second, or third position at the finish, specif. the second position
- Arith. the position of a digit in a number (Ex.: in 12.3 the one is in the ten's place, the two in the unit's place, and the three in the tenth's place)
Origin:
OFr < L platea, a broad street (in LL, an open space) < Gr plateia, a street < platys, broad: see platy-
transitive verb placed, placing
- to put in a particular place, condition, or relation
- to put in an assigned or proper place, as in a sequence or series
- ☆ to identify by associating with the correct place or circumstances: to place somebody's face
- to find employment or a position for; appoint to an office
- to arrange for a desired handling, treatment, or allocation of: to place a shipment, to place a child for adoption
- to assign (a value)
- to make or give as an estimate
- to offer (a proposal, problem, etc.) to be considered
- to repose (confidence, trust, hope, etc.) in a person or thing
- to adjust (the voice) to head or chest register
- to finish in (a specified position) in a competition: to place last
Origin:
Fr placer
intransitive verb
Sports to finish among the first three in a contest; specif., to finish second in a horse or dog race