posture

American  

[pos-cher] / ˈpɒs tʃər /

noun

1. the relative disposition of the parts of something.

2. the position of the limbs or the carriage of the body as a whole.

   poor posture; a sitting posture.

3. an affected or unnatural attitude.

   He struck a comic posture.

4. a mental or spiritual attitude.

   His ideas reveal a defensive posture.

5. one's image or policy as perceived by the public, other nations, etc..

   The company wants to develop a more aggressive marketing posture.

6. position, condition, or state, as of affairs.

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verb (used with object)

postured, posturing

1. to place in a particular posture or attitude.

2. to position, especially strategically.

   to posture troops along a border.

3. to develop a policy or stance for (oneself, a company, government, etc.).

   The White House postured itself for dealing with the fuel crisis.

4. to adopt an attitude or take an official position on (a matter).

   The company postured that the court's ruling could be interpreted as being in its favor.

verb (used without object)

postured, posturing

1. to assume a particular posture.

2. to assume affected or unnatural postures, as by bending or contorting the body.

3. to act in an affected or artificial manner, as to create a certain impression.

posture British  

/ ˈpɒstʃə /

noun

1. a position or attitude of the limbs or body

2. a characteristic manner of bearing the body; carriage

   to have good posture

3. the disposition of the parts of a visible object

4. a mental attitude or frame of mind

5. a state, situation, or condition

6. a false or affected attitude; pose

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verb

1. to assume or cause to assume a bodily position or attitude

2. (intr) to assume an affected or unnatural bodily or mental posture; pose

Related Words

See position.

Other Word Forms

• postural adjective
• posturer noun

Etymology

Origin of posture

First recorded in 1595–1605; from French, from Italian postura, from Latin positūra. See posit, -ure

Explanation

Posture is the way you position your body or arrange your limbs. So stand up straight, put your shoulders back, and lift that chin up. Ballerinas have an elegant, graceful posture, and soldiers tend to display a rigid, strong posture. If you sit hunched over your desk every day you'll end up with terrible posture. This noun describes the way you carry yourself, but can also describe a certain body position you take, like the different postures in yoga. If you're accused of posturing though, that's a different story — that means you're behaving unnaturally to impress someone.

Example Sentences

Minutes from the Fed’s March 17-18 meeting, released Wednesday, underscored that the war hadn’t created the Fed’s reluctance to cut so much as it had complicated an already-cautious posture.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Infiniti: The first thing it really taught me was that my posture is not as good as I thought it was because those costumes really force you to take over perfect posture.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Instead of sloshing cream into a hot skillet and hoping for the best, we are going to build a sauce with posture.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026

The Secret Service said operations at the White House remain normal but "a heightened security posture is in place".

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Anyone with half an eye could see the posture was fatiguing to the point of exhaustion.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Related Words

• attitude
• disposition
• feeling
• frame of mind
• mood
• outlook
• sentiment
• stance