Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

situation

 noun
     
sit‧u‧a‧tion S1 W1 [countable]
1 a combination of all the things that are happening and all the conditions that exist at a particular time in a particular placeCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
in a ... situation difficult/dangerous/tricky etc situation impossible situation (=one that is very difficult to deal with) economic/political/financial etc situation present/current situation improve/remedy a situation assess/monitor/review a situation defuse a situation (=stop a situation from being difficult or tense) a situation arises (=it happens) a situation worsens/deteriorates/improves a no-win situation (=a situation in which no one can get what they want) a win-win situation (=a situation in which everyone gets what they want)
I explained the situation.
Schoolchildren must be taught to deal with dangerous situations.
We were in an impossible situation - whatever we did, someone would be upset.
a long analysis of the political situation
I cannot put up with the current situation one day longer.
Some companies are taking measures to improve this situation.
The district judge had assessed the situation.
This situation has arisen as a result of our serious staffing shortages.
From that day onwards the situation worsened.
2 the type of area where a building is situated - used especially by people who sell or advertise buildings [= location]:
The house is in a charming situation, on a wooded hillside.
3 old-fashioned a job:
She managed to get a situation as a parlour maid.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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