Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - stand

~1 v past tense and past participle stood »BE UPRIGHT« 1 to support yourself on your feet in an upright position  (It looks like we'll have to stand - there are no seats left. | Can you see any better from where you're standing? | stand and do sth)  (Diane stood and waved until his car was gone. | stand still (=not move))  (Stand still and let me wipe your face. | stand there (=stand and not do anything))  (Don't just stand there - help me! | stand on your toes/stand on tiptoe (=support yourself on your toes))  (If you stand on tiptoe you can just about reach it.)  (- see also standstill, stand up) 2 »STAND SOMEWHERE TO DO STH« to take a particular position or do something in particular while standing  (Everybody stand in a circle. | You don't need to stand closer to the microphone.) + at/beside/by etc  (Ouida, you stand at the door and greet people.) stand on sth  (We used to get in trouble for standing on the seats. | stand somewhere doing sth)  (They just stood there laughing. | stand back/aside (=step backwards or sideways))  (Stand back and give her some air! | stand clear (of) (=move away))  (Stand clear of the doors, please.) 3 »RISE« also stand up to rise to an upright position, or to make someone do this  (Suddenly, everyone stood up and cheered. | Please stand and face the judge. | Come on, stand up and say something. | stand sb (up) on sth)  (Stand Molly up on a chair so she can see.) 4 »ON A BASE« T always + adv/prep to stay upright on a base or on an object, or to put something there  (Few houses were left standing after the tornado. | A green lamp stood on the leather-topped desk. | There's a parking lot where the theater once stood. | stand sth on/in/over etc)  (Can you stand that pole in the corner for now?) 5 stand to attention if soldiers stand to attention, they stand very straight and stiff to show respect 6 stand on your head/hands to support yourself on your head or hands, with your feet in the air 7 stand in line AmE to wait to be able to do something until the people ahead of you have done it; queue up (queue2) BrE  (Gail has men standing in line wanting to go out with her.) 8 stand fast/stand firm/stand your ground to refuse to be forced to move backwards »CAN'T STAND« 9 usually spoken to not like someone or something at all, or think that something is extremely unpleasant  (I can't stand whiskey. | can't stand the sight of)  (I'm so mad, I can hardly stand the sight of him. | can't stand to see/hear/do etc)  (I can't stand to see good food going to waste. | can't stand seeing/hearing/doing etc)  (Lily can't stand working in an office. | can't stand sb/sth doing)  (I can't stand people dropping litter.)  (- see also stand for stand1, can't bear sth/sb bear1 (1)) »ACCEPT/BEAR« 10 to be able to accept or deal well with a difficult situation; tolerate  (I've had about as much as I can stand of your arguing! | stand sth)  (I don't know if I can stand the waiting any longer. | stand sb doing sth)  (How can you stand Marty coming home late all the time? | not stand any nonsense)  (Get up to bed, and I won't stand any nonsense.) 11 »BE GOOD ENOUGH« to be done or made well enough to be successful, strong, or useful for a long time  (stand close examination (=be proved to be correct, well made etc))  (I suspect Murray's theory won't stand close examination.) stand the test of time (=stay strong)  (It's nice to see their marriage has stood the test of time.) 12 if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen used to say that you should leave a job or situation if you cannot deal with its difficulties »IN A PARTICULAR STATE/SITUATION« 13 I always + adv/prep, linking verb) to be in, stay in, or get into a particular state  (Court stands adjourned until 2 p.m. | as sth stands)  (The law, as it stood, favoured the developers. | the way things stand/as things stand (=used when talking about the state that a situation has reached))  (I'm not too thrilled with the way things stand at the moment. | where/how do things stand? (=used to ask what is happening in a situation))  (Where do things stand in terms of the budget? | stand united/divided (=agree or disagree completely))  (The committee stands divided on this issue. | stand prepared/ready to do sth (=be prepared to do something whenever it is necessary) | stand together (=stay united))  (If we all stand together, they can't beat us. | stand in awe of sb (=admire them, be afraid of them, or both)) »CONTINUE/NOT CHANGE« 14 stand alone to continue to do something alone, without help from anyone else  (Harper stood alone in his refusal to sell to the railroad.) 15 »STILL EXIST« I not in progressive to continue to exist, be correct, or be valid  (My offer of a place to stay still stands. | The court of appeal has ruled that the conviction should stand.) 16 stand still to not change or progress at all although time has passed  (Nothing stands still in the computer industry. | time stands still)  (Going back home, it's as if time has stood still and I'm ten years old.) 17 stand your ground/stand firm/stand fast also stand your guns AmE to refuse to change your opinions, intentions, or behaviour  (Stand your ground, don't let them talk you into anything you don't want.) + on/agains  (I call on you as citizens to stand firm against racism!) 18 stand pat AmE informal to refuse to change a decision, plan etc + on  (Harry's standing pat on his decision to fire Janice.) »NOT MOVED OR USED« 19 linking verb) to stay in a particular position, place, or state without being moved or used  (The car's been standing in the garage for weeks. | stand empty/idle (=not being used))  (scores of derelict houses standing empty) 20 »LIQUID« a liquid that stands does not flow or is not made to move  (standing pools of marsh water) »FEELINGS/OPINIONS« 21 know how/where you stand (with sb) to know how someone feels about you  (Yvonne may be blunt, but you always know where you stand with her.) 22 where sb stands someone's opinion about something, or the official rule about something + on  (The voters want to know where you stand on abortion.) 23 from where I stand according to what you know or feel  (Well from where I'm standing, it seems like she's being unreasonable.) 24 I stand corrected spoken formal used to admit that your opinion or something that you just said was wrong »LEVEL/AMOUNT/VALUE/HEIGHT« 25 to be at a particular level or amount + a  (Inflation currently stands at four percent. | Your bank balance stands at $720.92.) 26 to have a particular rank or position when compared to similar things or people  (I know your son stands high on the list of suitable candidates. | stand in relation to)  (How do their sales stand in relation to those of similar firms?) 27 I always + adv/prep, linking verb) usually written to be a particular height  (stand four feet etc (high)/stand 20 metres etc (tall))  (The Eiffel Tower stands 300m high.) »BE RESPONSIBLE« 28 linking verb to take a particular responsibility  (stand guard (over))  (If you stand guard over our stuff, I'll run get the tickets. | stand bail (=pay money as a promise that someone will return to a court to be judged) | stand surety (=be responsible for the results if someone else does not do what they promise to)) »LAW« 29 stand trial to be brought to a court of law to have your case examined and judged + for  (Gresham will stand trial for murder.) 30 stand accused to be the person in a court of law who is being judged for a crime  (Vincent Amis, you stand accused of murder.) BE PROUD/INDEPENDENT 31 stand on your own (two) feet to be able to earn what you need without help from others  (I'll think of him as equal when he's learnt to stand on his own two feet.) 32 stand tall AmE to be proud and feel ready to deal with anything 33 stand on your dignity to demand to be treated with respect  (Never one to stand on her dignity, Eva joined in with the fun.) COULD STAND 34 used to say very directly that it would be a good idea for someone to do something or for something to happen  (sb could stand to do sth)  (You could stand to lose a few pounds. | sth could stand another look/more attention etc (=it ought to be looked at more closely))  (Your report could stand another read-through for typos.) 35 I could stand sth AmE spoken humorous used to say that you would like something  (I could stand another piece of pie!) »OTHER MEANINGS« 36 stand a chance/hope (of doing sth) to be likely to be able to do something or to succeed  (You'll stand a better chance of getting a job with a degree. | not stand a chance)  (I'm afraid she doesn't stand a chance. | stand little chance (=not be likely to succeed))  (The bill stands little chance of becoming law.) 37 stand to gain/lose/win etc to be likely to do or have something  (We stand to make a lot of money from the merger.) 38 do sth standing on your head to do something easily  (Get Anne to help - she can fix things like that standing on her head.) 39 stand on your head to do sth to make a great effort to do something  (You won't find me standing on my head to help him any more.) 40 it stands to reason used to say that something should be completely clear to anyone who is sensible  (If the thefts are all in the same area, it stands to reason it's the same kids doing it.) 41 »ELECTION« to try to become elected to a council, parliament etc  (Who's standing for the Democrats in the 44th district?)  (- see also stand against) 42 stand in sb's way/path to prevent someone from doing something  (If you really want to marry Liam, I'm not going to stand in your way.) 43 stand sb in good stead to be very useful to someone when needed  (Now that I'm emigrating to the United States, my being able to speak English should stand me in good stead.) 44 stand sb a drink/meal etc to pay for something as a gift to someone; treat1 (5)  (Come on, Jack, I'll stand you a drink if you like.) 45 not stand on ceremony to not worry about the formal rules of polite behaviour  (Don't stand on ceremony - if you want a drink, have one.) 46 stand or fall by/on to depend on something for success  (The whole project must stand or fall on the quality of its research.) 47 stand sth on its head to show that a belief, idea etc is completely untrue  (Galileo's discovery stood medieval thought on its head.) 48 I + on/in BrE to accidentally step on or in something  (Mind you don't stand on Fluffy's tail.)  (- see also make sb's hair stand on end hair (6), leave sb standing leave1 (31), not hve a leg to stand on leg1 (8)) stand against sb/sth phr v to oppose a person, organization, plan, decision etc  (If we don't stand against the cutbacks, they'll cut even more next year.) stand around phr v to stand somewhere and not do anything  (It's too cold to stand around out here - I'm going back inside.) stand by phr v 1 to not do anything to help someone or prevent something from happening  (We are not prepared to stand by and let them close our schools.) 2 T stand by something) to keep a promise, agreement etc, or to declare that something is still true  (I stand by what I said earlier.) 3 T stand by someone) to stay loyal to someone and support them, especially in a difficult situation  (Wes needs to know we'll always stand by him.) 4 to be ready to do something if necessary  (be standing by)  (A rescue boat is always standing by in case of trouble.) + for  (Stand by for the countdown.) stand by to do sth  (Stand by to cue the commercial.)  (- see also bystander, standby) stand down phr v 1 to agree to leave your position or to stop trying to be elected, so that someone else can have a chance  (I'm prepared to stand down in favor of a younger candidate.)  (- see also step down step2) 2 to leave the witness box in court 3 T stand someone down) BrE to send a soldier away from work after they have done their work for the day, or to stop working for the day go off duty duty (3) stand for sth phr v 1 if a letter, number or sign stands for something, it represents it as a short form of a word, name, or idea  ("My name is Dean E. Beller." "What does the E stand for?") 2 (usually in questions and negatives) to allow something to continue to happen without complaining about it or trying to stop it  (We will not stand for this sort of behavior, young man! | stand for being)  (I won't stand for being treated like a child.) 3 to support a particular set of ideas, values, or principles  (I want to know what she stands for before I'll vote for her.) stand in phr v to temporarily do someone else's job + for  (Can you stand in for Meg while she's on vacation?)  (- see also stand­in) stand out phr v 1 to be very easy to see or notice by looking or sounding different from other things or people  (I think black lettering will stand out best on a yellow sign. | stand out in a crowd)  (Well, that dress will make you stand out in a crowd!) 2 stand out a mile to be very clear or noticeable  (They thought no one knew but it stood out a mile they were interested in each other.) 3 to be clearly better or the best  (stand out as)  (Among mystery writers, P D James stands out as a superior storyteller.) + from/among/above  (Nathan stands out from the rest of the singers.)  (- see also standout) stand out against sth phr v to be strongly opposed to an idea, plan etc  (We must stand out against bigotry.) stand over sb phr v to stand very close behind someone and watch as they work to make sure they do nothing wrong  (I can't concentrate with him standing over me like that.) stand to phr v T stand someone to) BrE to order a soldier to move into a position so that they are ready for action, or to move into this position stand up phr v 1 I usually in progressive) to stand  (Boy am I tired, I've been standing up all day. | stand up straight)  (Stand up straight, boy, don't slouch!) 2 to stay healthy in a difficult environment or in good condition after a lot of hard use  (The trees stood up pretty well to the frosts this winter.) 3 to be proved to be true, correct, useful etc when tested  (stand up under/to)  (stand up under close scrutiny | stand up in court (=be successfully proved in a court of law))  (Without a witness, the charges will never stand up in court.) 4 T stand someone up) informal to not meet someone after you have promised to do something with them  (I was supposed to go to a concert with Kyle on Friday, but he stood me up.) 5 stand up and be counted to make it very clear what you think about something when this is dangerous or might cause trouble for you  (- see also stand­up1) stand up for sb/sth phr v to support or defend a person or idea when they are being attacked  (It's time we stood up for our rights. | Didn't anyone stand up for James and say it wasn't his fault?) stand up to sb/sth phr v to refuse to accept unfair treatment from a person or organization  (He'll respect you more if you stand up to him.) ~2 n 1 »FOR SUPPORT« a piece of furniture or equipment for supporting something  (a music stand | an umbrella stand | Can we put another microphone stand here? | coat-stand/hat-stand (=for hanging coats or hats on)) 2 »FOR SELLING« a small structure used for selling or showing things; stall1 (1)  (a hotdog stand | Come by our stand at the exhibition and see the new products.)  (- see also newsstand) 3 »OPINION/ATTITUDE« C usually singular a position or opinion that you state firmly and publicly  (take a stand (on))  (The Labour Party has not taken a stand on the political position of the monarchy.) 4 »SPORTS GROUND« also stands plural a building where people stand or sit to watch the game at a sports ground  (- see also grandstand) 5 »OPPOSE/DEFEND« a strong effort to defend yourself or to oppose something  (make a stand)  (In February 1916 the French army made a stand at Verdun. | make/mount a stand against)  (Somebody's got to make a stand against the parish council.) 6 »SPORTS GAME« the period of time in which two batsmen (batsman) are playing together in a game of cricket (2), or the points that they get 7 the stand AmE a witness box  (take the stand)  (Will the next witness please take the stand?)  (- see also one­night stand)