Deposition has different meanings depending on the context. In the legal field, a deposition is a witnesss sworn out-of-court testimony, taken under oath, that is used to gather information as part of the discovery process and, in limited circumstances, may be used at trial. The witness being deposed is called the "deponent". Depositions are usually conducted outside court by the lawyers themselves, with no judge present to supervise the examination. During a deposition, all parties may question the witness, and lawyers may not coach their clients testimony. Depositions are usually hearsay and are thus inadmissible at trial, but there are three exceptions to the hearsay rule that are particularly relevant to deposition.
In a general sense, deposition refers to an act or process of laying someone or something down or letting something fall, or an act or process of depositing. An example of deposition in this sense is the deposition of earth and stone by glaciers.
