- the manner and position in which a person or animal stands
- the posture assumed when about to play the ball, as in golf, cricket, etc
- general emotional or intellectual attitude: a leftist stance
- Scot a place where buses or taxis wait
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
stance /stæns/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the bearing of the body while standing, esp. in sports:He assumed a karate stance.
- a mental or emotional position or opinion taken with respect to something:the governor's stance on the issue of aid to higher education.
stance (stans),USA pronunciation
n.
- the position or bearing of the body while standing:legs spread in a wide stance; the threatening stance of the bull.
- a mental or emotional position adopted with respect to something:They assumed an increasingly hostile stance in their foreign policy.
- [Sports.]the relative position of the feet, as in addressing a golf ball or in making a stroke.
- Vulgar Latin *stantia, derivative of Latin stant- (stem of stāns), present participle of stāre to stand
- Old French estance (standing) position
- 1525–35
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
stance /stæns; stɑːns/ n
'stance' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
broad
- coign of vantage
- en garde
- guard
- stand
- address
- anopheles
- basic weight
- closed stance
- controlled substance
- counterinstance
- easy
- fanatic
- ground substance
- happenstance
- open stance
- pose
- posture
- queen substance
- viewpoint
- working substance
- square
- stand-up
- substance abuse
- sum and substance