English
situation
Pronunciation
  • enPR sĭt-yo͞o-ā'shən, IPA: /sɪtjuːˈeɪʃən/, /sɪtʃuˈ(w)eɪʃən/
Noun

situation (plural situations)

  1. The way in which something is positioned vis-à-vis its surroundings.
    The Botanical Gardens are in a delightful situation on the river bank.
    • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows:
      ...he being naturally an underground animal by birth and breeding, the situation of Badger's house exactly suited him and made him feel at home; while the Rat, who slept every night in a bedroom the windows of which opened on a breezy river, naturally felt the atmosphere still and oppressive.
  2. The place in which something is situated; a location.
    • 1833, Thomas Hibbert and Robert Buist, The American Flower Garden Directory, page 142:
      [Hibíscus] speciòsus is the most splendid, and deserves a situation in every garden.
  3. Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.
  4. The combination of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs.
    The United States is in an awkward situation with debt default looming.
  5. (UK, dated) A position of employment; a post.
    • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Penguin 2006, page 78:
      When he was nineteen, he suddenly left the 'Co-op' office, and got a situation in Nottingham.
    • 1946, Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, Milt Gabler, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie:
      You take a morning paper from the top of the stack
      And read the situations from the front to the back
      The only job that's open need a man with a knack
      So put it right back in the rack Jack.
  6. A difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.
    Boss, we've got a situation here...
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