train and bus stations and taxi ranks

station

sta·tion [station stations stationed stationing] noun, verb   [ˈsteɪʃn]    [ˈsteɪʃn]

noun  

FOR TRAINS/BUSES
1. a place where trains stop so that passengers can get on and off; the buildings connected with this
• I get off at the next station.
• the main station
• Penn Station
• a train station
• (BrE also) a railway station
• (BrE) a tube/an underground station

• (NAmE) a subway station

2. (usually in compounds) a place where buses stop; the buildings connected with this
• a bus/coach station  In Britain, the word station on its own usually refers to the train station
• Can you tell me the way to the station? In the US it is usual to say which station you are talking about
• the train station

• the Greyhound Bus station  

FOR WORK/SERVICE

3. (usually in compounds) a place or building where a service is organized and provided or a special type of work is done
• a police station
• (BrE) a petrol station
• (NAmE) a gas station
• an agricultural research station
• a pollution monitoring station

compare  space station  

RADIO/TV COMPANY

4. (often in compounds) a radio or television company and the programmes it broadcasts
• a local radio/TV station

• He tuned to another station.  

SOCIAL POSITION

5. (old-fashioned or formal) your social position

• She was definitely getting ideas above her station.  

POSITION

6. a place where sb has to wait and watch or be ready to do work if needed
• You are not to leave your station without permission.

see also  docking station  

LARGE FARM

7. (usually in compounds) a large sheep or cattle farm in Australia or New Zealand  

FOR ARMY/NAVY
8. a small base for the army or navy; the people living in it
• a naval station
see also  action stations, see panic stations at  panic  _n.  
Word Origin:
Middle English (as a noun): via Old French from Latin statio(n-), from stare ‘to stand’. Early use referred generally to “position”, especially ‘position in life, status’, and specifically, in ecclesiastical use, to ‘a holy place of pilgrimage (visited as one of a group)’. The verb dates from the late 16th cent.  
Thesaurus:
station noun
1. C
• Get off at the next station.
stop • • bus stop • • terminus • • terminal • • destination • |AmE depot •
a rail/railway/railroad station/terminus/terminal
a train station/terminus/depot
a bus station/terminus/terminal/depot
arrive at the station/stop/bus stop/terminal/your destination
2. C (often in compounds)
• a local radio/TV station
channel • • network • |technical frequency •
a television station/channel/network
a radio station/network/frequency
tune to a station/channel/frequency 
Example Bank:
• I can pick up a lot of foreign stations on this radio.
• I went into a polling station and cast my vote.
• The UK post was a way station to retirement.
• The bus leaves the station at 09.00 hours.
• The meeting had to be abandoned after local fire station officer, Dave Temple, was called away to a fire.
• The police led me into the station house.
• The station airs 14 hours of local news per week.
• The train arrived at Oxford Station twenty minutes late.
• There's a newspaper kiosk in the station.
• We get off at the next station.
• We got to the station just as the train was pulling out.
• We stopped for a break at a motorway service station.
• We waited for him at the bus station.
• a digital radio station
• a gas station attendant
• the CIA station chief in Vietnam
• I bought a newspaper at the bus station.
• I'll get a coffee at the station.
• I'll give you a lift to the station.
• I'm getting off at the next station.
• Temple is the name of both a London tube station and a Paris metro station.
• The train left the station on time.
• The train was just arriving at the station.
• There was an explosion in a subway station.
• They met on the station platform.
• a local radio/TV station

• the railroad/train/subway/bus station