stand for

Verb

stand for (third-person singular simple present stands for, present participle standing for, simple past and past participle stood for)

1. (idiomatic) To mean; to symbolize; to represent; especially of an acronym or abbreviation.
   • The abbreviation CIA stands for "Central Intelligence Agency".
   • Some teachers festoon every spare inch of wall with vocabulary choices or maths techniques to use, which look great at first, but to some children might appear quite daunting. You'll probably see unfamiliar acronyms such as Walt (We Are Learning To). Be sure to ask what they stand for and how they...2014 September 23, A teacher, “Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents”, in The Guardian
2. To advocate; to support.
   • Bernard, you should stand for Parliament.1986 February 13, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “A Victory for Democracy”, in Yes, Prime Minister, season 1, episode 6, spoken by Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne)
   • Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh-oh
     (Oh-ooh-woah) what do I stand for?
     (Oh-ooh-woah) what do I stand for?
     Most nights, I don't know anymore2012, Jeff Bhasker, Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff, “Some Nights”, in Some Nights), performed by fun.
3. To tolerate.
   • We won't stand for that type of behaviour.