From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishposepose1 /pəʊz $ poʊz/ ●●○ W3 AWL verb 1 CAUSEcause problem [transitive] to exist in a way that may cause a problem, danger, difficulty etcpose a threat/danger/risk Officials claim the chemical poses no real threat.pose something to/for somebody/something The events pose a challenge to the church’s leadership. Rising unemployment is posing serious problems for the administration.2 picture [intransitive]AVTCP to sit or stand in a particular position in order to be photographed or painted, or to make someone do thispose for We posed for photographs.3 → pose a question4 → pose as somebody5 to impress people [intransitive]SHOW OFF to dress or behave like a rich and fashionable person in order to make other people notice you or admire youCOLLOCATIONSnounspose a threat/danger/riskThe chemical leak poses a threat to human health.pose a problemA flood of refugees could pose a serious problem for neighbouring countries.pose difficultiesPhysical education and games pose difficulties for short-sighted children.pose a challengeThe material being taught must pose a challenge to pupils.pose a dilemma (=cause a situation in which it is very difficult to decide what to do)In the future, the possibility of genetic testing on unborn children will pose a dilemma for parents. → See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
pose• These are not tremendously forceful answers to the thorny questions posed.• The discrepancies between these different analyses pose a number of problems.• Moving away from the camera, Alvin posed beside Rose Garden tubeworms, providing unarguable proof of dimension.• In answer to a question posed by a congressman.• Winning meant standing on a podium, smiling for cameras and posing for pictures.• In the end, however, these drugs pose logistical difficulties for most poor countries because it is a high-maintenance therapy.• Ordering and analysing the output of the mass media obviously pose particular problems.posing ... problems• It is introducing more of the latter which is posing the biggest problems.• It occupied him without posing intractable problems.• In structuralist theory the language of criticism ends up posing as many problems as the language of literature.• Questions like these dealing with real people with real motives and posing problems, can slowly help to develop understanding.• Persistent truants, those truanting for weeks at a time, were seen as posing intractable problems for schools.pose for• A group of fans wanted Romano to pose for pictures.posepose2 AWL noun [countable] 1 AVTCPthe position in which someone stands or sits, especially in a painting, photograph etcin a pose a painting of the Duchess in a dramatic pose Ann struck a pose (=stood or sat in a particular position) and smiled for the camera.2 SHOW OFFbehaviour in which someone pretends to have a quality or social position they do not really have, usually in order to make other people notice them or admire them Her confidence was merely a pose to hide her uncertainty.Examples from the Corpus
pose• Not all poses are suitable for everyone.• On her travels she's there with a goofy grin and a different pose for every occasion.• She was not a looker, but her Hard Number pose turned him on somehow.• But the odds are that even those women who appear impermeable to pain are suffering great hurt behind their face-saving pose.• Rather than pose it as a question of culture, however, they tackled it - often very productively - in terms of ideology.• Try to experience the pose while you draw it.• He shed the pose of the sophisticated lawyer and became his real self at last.struck a pose• The blonde struck a pose and fixed a tight smile on her immaculately made-up face.• Lyn struck a pose with her head to one side.Origin pose1 (1300-1400) Old French poser, from Late Latin pausare “to stop, rest”, from Latin pausa; → PAUSE2 