Word.ws English Dictionary

stand

UK/ˈstænd/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈstand/

stand verb: to support oneself on the feet in an erect position. Also the ellipsis of tavern stand.

stand: to support oneself on the feet in an erect position
Image: Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

stand (third-person singular simple present stands, present participle standing, simple past stood, past participle stood or (obsolete) standen or (nonstandard) stand)

  1. (copulative, intransitive) To support oneself on the feet in an erect position.
    • Here I stand, wondering what to do next.
    • I can't reach the ceiling. Get me a chair to stand on.
  2. (intransitive) To rise to one’s feet; to stand up.
    • Stand up, walk to the refrigerator, and get your own snack.
  3. (copulative, intransitive) To remain motionless.
    • Do not leave your car standing in the road.
    • The star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 2:9
  4. (intransitive) To be placed in an upright or vertical orientation.
    • They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
    • He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom […]1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC
  5. (transitive) To place in an upright or standing position.
    • He stood the broom in a corner and took a break.
    • At one time a "standard test" for carriage riding was to stand a pencil on end on the compartment floor, or to measure how long it was possible to stand on one leg without touching the corridor walls; [...].1961 February, R. K. Evans, “The role of research on British Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 93
  6. (intransitive) To occupy or hold a place; to be set, placed, fixed, located, or situated.
    • Paris stands on the Seine.
    • The chapel ſtands on the South ſide of the ſquare, near the governor’s houſe.1774, Edward Long, The History of Jamaica. Or, General Survey of the Antient and Modern State of that Island, volume 2, book 2, chapter 7, 6
  7. (intransitive) To measure when erect on the feet.
    • His face, as I grant, in spite of spite / Has a broad-blown comeliness, red and white, / And six feet two, as I think, he stands; […]1855, Alfred Tennyson, “Maud”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, part XIII, stanza 1, page 44
    • She must stand five feet five—possibly six. At that, with the tread she has, she will take a 4½ to 5.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries
  8. (intransitive, usually, sweat) To be present, to have welled up.
    • many an orphan’s water-standing eyec. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
    • now my heart beginneth to melt within me being wounded (with that the tears stood in his eyes) to see the faces of some here present, whom J most earnestly love, and now must depart from with shame […]1651, Francis Bacon, “Sir Jervas his Confession”, in A True and Historical Relation of the Poysoning of Sir Thomas Overbury, London: John Benson & John Playford, page 71
  9. (intransitive, with infinitive, with-to) To be positioned to gain or lose.
    • He stands to get a good price for the house.
  10. (transitive) To tolerate.
    • I can’t stand when people don’t read the instructions.
    • I can’t stand him.
  11. (copulative, intransitive) To maintain one's ground; to be acquitted; not to fail or yield; to be safe.
    • [R]eaders by whose judgment I would stand or fall […]1712 February 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “FRIDAY, February 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 291; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […]...
  12. (copulative, intransitive) To maintain an invincible or permanent attitude; to be fixed, steady, or firm; to take a position in resistance or opposition.
    • The king granted the Jews[…]to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Esther 8:11
    • the standing pattern of their imitation1660 August 7 (Gregorian calendar), Robert South, “(please specify the sermon number)[Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church in Oxon]”, in Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. […], new edition...
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  1. (copulative, intransitive, obsolete) To be in some particular state; to have essence or being; to be; to consist.
    • sacrifices[…]which stood only in meats and drinks1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 9:10
    • Accomplish what your signs foreshow; / I stand resigned, and am prepared to go.1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
  2. (intransitive) To act as an umpire.
  3. (transitive) To undergo; withstand; hold up.
    • The works of Shakespeare have stood the test of time.
    • Love stood the siege.1700, [John] Dryden, “Theodore and Honoria, from Boccace”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
  4. (UK, intransitive) To be a candidate (in an election).
    • He is standing for election to the local council.
    • He stood to be elected one of the proctors of the university.1678, Izaak Walton, The Life of Robert Sanderson
  5. (intransitive) To remain valid.
    • What I said yesterday still stands.
  6. (transitive) To oppose, usually as a team, in competition.
    • "Kim, Jack, and I will stand you guys," Jimmie Burdette said. / "We'll smear you!" laughed Ron.1957, Matt Christopher, chapter 7, in Basketball Sparkplug
    • The game stopped while sides were sorted out. Andy did the sorting. "Okay," he said. "Jimmy is coming out. He and Gaston and Ike and me will stand you guys."c. 1973, R. J. Childerhose, Hockey Fever in Goganne Falls, page 95
  7. (transitive) To cover the expense of; to pay for.
    • to stand a round of drinks
    • to stand a treat
  8. (intransitive) To have or maintain a position, order, or rank; to be in a particular relation.
    • Christian charity, or love, stands first in the rank of gifts.
    • President Obama gave his first extended television interview since the protests in Libya and Egypt to Telemundo on Wednesday night, and he took the opportunity to explain the U.S.'s role in the developing world while clarifying where the country stands with Egypt right now.2022 September 13, Connor Simpson, “Obama is neutral on Egypt right now”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
  9. (intransitive) To be consistent; to agree; to accord.
    • Doubt me not, by Heauen, I vvill doe nothing / But vvhat may ſtand vvith honour: […]c. 1619 (date written), P[hilip] M[assinger], N[athan] F[ield], The Fatall Dowry: A Tragedy. […], London: […] Iohn Norton, for Francis Constable, […], published 1632, →OCLC, Act IV, signature I2...
  10. (intransitive) To appear in court.
  11. (intransitive) Of a ship or its captain, to steer, sail (in a specified direction, for a specified destination etc.).
    • To repaire his defects, hee stood for the coast of Calabria, but hearing there was six or seven Galleyes at Mesina hee departed thence for Malta[…].1630, John Smith, True Travels, Kupperman, published 1988, page 40
  12. (copulative, intransitive) To remain without ruin or injury.
    • My mind on its own centre stands unmov'd.1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy
    • The ruin'd wall / Stands when its wind-worn battlements are gone.1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza XXXII
  13. To stop asking for more cards; to keep one's hand as it has been dealt so far.

Noun (1)

stand (plural stands)

  1. The act of standing.
    • I took my stand upon an eminence […] to look into their several ladings.October 2, 1712, Joseph Addison, The Spectator No. 499
  2. A defensive position or effort.
    • The Commander says we will make our stand here.
  3. A resolute, unwavering position; firm opinion; action for a purpose in the face of opposition.
    • They took a firm stand against copyright infringement.
    • There are also a growing number of lesbians in prison who are out about being lesbian and that stand in and of itself is much stronger than being out on the outside. These women are in much greater danger.1991 December 1, Rebecca Levine, Judy Greenspan, “A Great Need”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 20, page 9
  4. A period of performance in a given location or venue.
    • They have a four-game stand at home against the Yankees.
    • They spent the summer touring giving 4 one-night stands a week.
  5. A device to hold something upright or aloft.
    • He set the music upon the stand and began to play. an umbrella stand; a hat-stand
    • There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans...
  6. The platform on which a witness testifies in court; the witness stand or witness box.
    • She took the stand and quietly answered questions.
    • Shortly after Ellison started at Alameda around fall 2018 as a trader, she learned that the company was financially far sicker than she had known, she said on the stand.2023 October 11, Victoria Bekiempis, “Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend to take stand again after day of dramatic testimony”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
  7. (historical) An area of raised seating for waiters at the stock exchange.
    • When a member has failed to comply with his bargains the fact is announced from one of the stands, […]1923, Julius E. Day, The Stockbroker's Office: Organisation, Management and Accounts, page 99
    • Just as that clock is striking now, the two waiters appear on the stands and take off their hats, as if to a corpse.1934, Frances Cosgrove, Scenes for Student Actors: Dramatic Selections from New Plays, page 8
  8. A particular grove or other group of trees or shrubs.
    • This stand of pines is older than the one next to it.
    • Pernambuco is a coastal wood which grows in maintained stands in Brazil.2000, James Beament, The Violin Explained: Components, Mechanism, and Sound, page 159
  9. A contiguous group of trees sufficiently uniform in age-class distribution, composition, and structure, and growing on a site of sufficiently uniform quality, to be a distinguishable unit.
  10. A standstill, a motionless state, as of someone confused, or a hunting dog who has found game.
    • One of the later school of the Grecians, examineth the matter, and is at a stand, to think what should be in it, that men should love lies; where neither they make for pleasure, as with poets, nor for advantage, as with the merchant; but for the lie’s sake.1625, Francis Bacon, “Of Truth”, in Essays
    • Antonia's patience now was at a stand—
      "Come, come, 't is no time now for fooling there,"
      She whispered[…]1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I.168
  11. A small building, booth, or stage, as in a bandstand or hamburger stand.
  12. A designated spot where someone or something may stand or wait.
    • a taxi stand
    1. (Australia) The place a shearer takes in a shearing shed.
      • At the respective ‘stands’ assigned to them stood the rival foes, each silently adjusting his shearing paraphernalia.1911, ‘Steel Rudd’, The Book of Dan, Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, published 1970, page 87
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  1. (US, dated) The situation of a shop, store, hotel, etc.
    • a good, bad, or convenient stand for business
  2. Grandstand. (often in the plural)
    • Are your seats in the stands or on the floor?
    • The end of the opening period was relatively quite [sic] as Vassiljev's desperate shot from well outside the penalty area flew into the stand housing the Irish supporters and then Ward's ctoss [sic] was gathered by goalkeeper Pareiko.2011 November 11, Rory Houston, “Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland”, in RTE Sport
  3. A partnership.
    • England wrapped up a five-wicket victory in the first Test as a stand of 132 between Alastair Cook and Ian Bell saw off an early West Indies charge.2012 May 21, Tom Fordyce, “England v West Indies: Hosts cruise home in Lord's Test”, in BBC Sport
  4. (collective, plural often stand) A single set of arms (weaponry).
    • The police and troops captured eleven thousand stand of arms, including muskets and pistols, together with several thousand bludgeons and other weapons.1927, Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld, Paragon House, published 1990, →ISBN, page 170
  5. (obsolete) Rank; post; station; standing.
    • Father, since your fortune did attain / So high a stand, I mean not to descend.1595, Samuel Daniel, “(please specify the folio number)”, in The First Fowre Bookes of the Ciuile Wars between the Two Houses of Lancaster and Yorke, London: […] P[eter] Short for Simon Waterson...
  6. (dated) A state of perplexity or embarrassment.
    • to be at a stand what to do
  7. A young tree, usually reserved when other trees are cut; also, a tree growing or standing upon its own root, in distinction from one produced from a scion set in a stock, either of the same or another kind of tree.
  8. A location or position where one may stand.
    • Come, I have found you out a stand most fit, / Where you may have such vantage on the duke, / He shall not pass you.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  9. An advertisement filling an entire billboard, comprising many sheets of paper.
    • The cost of the printing alone will average $2 a 'stand.' The sheets are about 28x42 inches and are in four colors, which means they must go through the process four times.1900, Marketing Communications, volume 30, page 12
    • Crew of 14 billers and a four-man brigade will be 10 days ahead and will use all special paper including new jungle and animal designs being prepared by Enquirer Printing Company.
      New this season will be a 20-sheet poster depicting 21 K-M elephants parading to local Chevrolet agencies. Deal calls...1951 February 24, Billboard, page 52
  10. (collective) A group of flamingos.
    • Woodland Park’s stand of flamingos are all past breeding age2024 February 12, Andy Corbley, “Quick-Thinking Flight Attendant and Passengers Save 6 Flamingo Eggs Aboard Flight”, in Good News Network
    • But he loves taking pictures of all critters, he said, and noticed a stand of flamingos wading in a salt pond.2014 March 12, Matt Davenport, “Carmel man snaps photo of rare black flamingo”, in Monterey Herald, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2026

Noun (2)

stand (plural stands)

  1. (Scotland, US, dated) A container which stands upright, such as a barrel or cask.
    • Item, for a ſtande of small ale - ii s.1559, The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth. Among Which are Interspersed, Other Solemnities, Public Expenditures, and Remarkable Events, During the Reign of that Illustrious...
    • […]one gialfatte, 3 stannes 3s.,[…]1582, Rural Economy in Yorkshire in 1641, Being the Farming and Account Books of Henry Best, of Elmswell, in the East Riding of the County of York (The Publications of the Surtees Society; volume...
  2. (obsolete) A weight of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds, used in weighing pitch.

Also used as

stand is also the ellipsis of tavern stand.

stand meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

stand in Hindi

to support oneself on the feet in an erect position
खड़ा होना khaṛā honā

stand in Tamil

to support oneself on the feet in an erect position
நில் nil

stand in Marathi

to support oneself on the feet in an erect position
उभं राहने ubha rāhne

stand in Urdu

to support oneself on the feet in an erect position
کھڑا ہونا khaṛā honā
More languagesFewer languages
stand in Bengali
দাঁড়ানো dãṛanō
stand in Telugu
నిలబడు nilabaḍu
stand in Malayalam
നിൽക്കാൻ, നിലകൊള്ളാൻ, നിൽക്കുവാൻ
stand in Kannada
ನಿಲ್ಲು nillu
stand in Sanskrit
तिष्ठति tíṣṭhati
stand in Sinhala
අමිශ්ර ගොන්න amiśra gonna
stand in Assamese
থিয় হোৱা thi hüa
stand in Pashto
درېدل darədᶕl
stand in Tagalog
tindig
stand in Arabic
وَقَفَ waqafa, وقف weʔef, قام gām
stand in Malay
berdiri, tahan
stand in Indonesian
berdiri
stand in Persian
ایستادن istâdan, وایسادن vâysâdan, برخاستن barxâstan, پا شدن pâ šodan
stand in Thai
ยืน yʉʉn, ลุก lúk
stand in Vietnamese
đứng, quầy, gian hàng
stand in Myanmar
ရပ် rap

Examples of stand in a sentence

  • to stand bail (security in respect of an arrested person)
  • He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
  • Las Vegas police say the number of people injured now stands at 515.2017 October 2, "Las Vegas shooting: At least 58 dead at Mandalay Bay Hotel", in bbc.com, BBC
  • He takes me half-price to the play, to an extent which I sometimes fear is beyond his means; and I see the tears a standing in his eyes during the whole performance […]1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 32, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […]...
  • It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

All 40 example sentences with stand

Forms of stand

Verb
third-person singular presentstands
present participlestanding
paststood
past participlestood
past participle (obsolete)standen
past participle (nonstandard)stand
second-person singular present (archaic)standest
second-person singular past (archaic)stoodst
second-person singular past (archaic)stoodest
third-person singular present (archaic)standeth
past participle (dialectal)stand
past participle (dialectal)stooden
past participle (archaic)standen
Noun
pluralstands

Past tense of stand: stood

Plural of stand: stands

Origin of stand

From Middle English stonden, standen (verb) and stand, stond (noun, from the verb), from Old English standan (“to stand, occupy a place”), from Proto-West Germanic *standan, from Proto-Germanic *standaną (“to stand”), from Pre-Germanic *sth₂-n-t-´, an innovative extended n-infixed form of Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-. Cognates Cognate with Scots staund (“to stand”), Yola sthoan, sthoane, sthone, stoane (“to stand”), North Frisian staan, stoune, stuine, stun, stönje, stööne (“to stand”), Saterland Frisian stounde (“to stand”), Danish stande (“to stand”), Faroese and Icelandic standa (“to stand”), Norwegian Nynorsk standa, stå (“to stand”), Swedish stånda (“to stand”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan, “to stand”). From the related Proto-Germanic *stāną (“to stand”): West Frisian stean (“to stand”), Alemannic German staa (“to stand”), Central Franconian stiehn, stohn, stonn (“to stand”), Cimbrian stean (“to stand”), Dutch staan (“to stand”), German stehen (“to stand”), Low German stahn, staon (“to stand”), Luxembourgish stoen (“to stand”), Vilamovian śtejn (“to stand”), Yiddish שטיין (shteyn, “to stand”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish stå (“to stand”), Faroese stá...

From Middle English stand, stande, stond, stonde, stoonde, probably from Middle Dutch stande, from Old Dutch *standan (“to stand”), from Frankish *standan. Forms with -o- may show influence of stonden (“stand”, verb).

Words formed from stand

Phrases with stand

150 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with stand

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about stand

What does stand mean?
Stand means to support oneself on the feet in an erect position.
What is stand in Hindi?
Stand in Hindi is खड़ा होना (khaṛā honā). See Stand meaning in Hindi.
How do you use stand in a sentence?
to stand bail (security in respect of an arrested person)
What part of speech is stand?
Stand can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce stand?
Stand is pronounced /ˈstænd/ (UK).
What is the past tense of stand?
The past tense of stand is stood.

Words near stand in the dictionary

  1. Stancos
  2. Stanczak
  3. Stanczaks
  4. Stanczyk
  5. Stanczyks
  6. stand
  7. stand a chance
  8. stand and be counted
  9. stand and deliver
  10. stand and stir
  11. stand around

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: stand (page history and authors); stand (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Pvanp7-stand.wav, En-us-stand.ogg.

Cite this entry: “stand.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/stand. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.