Meaning & use
statement
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something you say or write officially to give facts, an opinion, or a decision.
Grammar: Countable: make a statement, issue a statement, two statements.
Patterns
- make a statement about something
- issue a statement
- a statement from someone
The minister will make a statement to the press this afternoon.
The witness gave a signed statement to the police.
The company's statement said that the factory would stay open.
nouncountablefinance
A printed or online record showing the money paid into and taken out of an account over a period.
Grammar: Countable and often modified by the account type: a bank statement, a credit card statement.
Patterns
- a statement for something
- a monthly statement
I checked my bank statement and noticed a payment I did not recognize.
Your credit card statement arrives on the first of each month.
She asked the bank to send a paper statement by post.
nouncountableinformal
Something that shows an attitude or belief through appearance or action rather than words.
Grammar: Usually appears as make a statement or be a statement.
Patterns
- make a statement
- a statement of something
Her bright red coat was a bold fashion statement.
Buying a bicycle instead of a car was his way of making a statement about the environment.
The empty chairs at the ceremony made a powerful statement.
nouncountabletechnicalcomputing
In grammar or computing, a sentence that gives information, or a single instruction in a program.
Grammar: A technical sense: a declarative statement, an if statement.
Patterns
- an if statement
- a declarative statement
A declarative statement ends with a full stop, while a question ends with a question mark.
Each line of the program contains one statement.
The if statement checks whether the number is greater than ten.
Word forms
| plural | statements |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a statement
- The senator will make a statement after the vote.
- issue a statement
- The club issued a statement confirming the coach's departure.
- bank statement
- You will need a recent bank statement as proof of address.
- mission statement
- Our mission statement says that we put customers first.
- sworn statement
- He gave a sworn statement to the court about what he saw.
- fashion statement
- The oversized hat was clearly meant as a fashion statement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- announcement
- An announcement makes news known to a group, while a statement can also be a careful account of facts or a position.
- declaration
- A declaration is firmer and more formal, often a solemn or official claim, whereas a statement can be routine.
- account
- An account tells what happened in the form of a story, but a statement is shorter and focused on set facts.
- remark
- A remark is a casual comment made in passing, but a statement is more deliberate and usually official.
Opposites
Word family
- state verb
- to say or write something clearly and formally
- understatement noun
- a statement that makes something seem less important than it is
- overstatement noun
- a statement that exaggerates
- restate verb
- to say something again in a different way
Commonly confused: statement or stationery?
statement vs stationery
Stationery means paper and office supplies, and it is spelled differently and has no link to statements.
Practice
Which sense of statement is used here: I need a copy of my latest statement to prove where I live.
Choose one answer.
Proof of address is usually a bank statement, so the account record is meant. A press announcement would not be used as proof where you live.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “statement”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.