Word.ws English Dictionary

assume the position

assume the position verb: often used other than figuratively or idiomatically: to assume a given position.

Verb

assume the position (third-person singular simple present assumes the position, present participle assuming the position, simple past and past participle assumed the position)

  1. Often used other than figuratively or idiomatically: to assume a given position.
    • Now in this case, if the suspended bar were acted upon solely by the north pole of the magnet, it would assume the position AB1842, Daniel Davis et al., Davis's Manual of Magnetism
    • President Clinton's nominee to assume the position of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior […]1998, Nomination of Kevin Gover: Hearing Before the Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate
  2. (US, idiomatic) To turn away, with one's hands in a visible and unmovable position, so that one can be searched.
    • A day or two later we took down another seller and this time the rookie performs the search. Assume the position! he tells the guy. So the guy leans against the side of the car.2002, James Harper Walker, Inside Your Local Police
  3. (UK, idiomatic, punishment) Often used as an order to bend over, for example, to receive the traditional corporal punishment in a case of misbehaviour.

Forms of assume the position

third-person singular presentassumes the position
present participleassuming the position
past participleassumed the position
pastassumed the position

Questions about assume the position

What does assume the position mean?
Assume the position means often used other than figuratively or idiomatically: to assume a given position.
What part of speech is assume the position?
Assume the position is a verb.
What is the past tense of assume the position?
The past tense of assume the position is assumed the position.

Words near assume the position in the dictionary

  1. assume
  2. assume makes an ass of you and me
  3. assume makes an ass out of you and me
  4. assume room temperature
  5. assume the mantle
  6. assume the position
  7. assumed
  8. assumed name
  9. assumed names
  10. assumed room temperature
  11. assumed the mantle

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: assume the position (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-assume the position.ogg.

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