stand

Universal Words verb, noun verb (stood, stood ) on feet / be upright 1 [V] to be on your feet; to be upright: She was too weak to stand. * a bird standing on one leg * Don't just stand there-do something! * I was standing only a few feet away. * Stand still while I take your photo. * We all stood around in the corridor waiting. * to stand on your head / hands (= to be upside down, balancing on your head / hands). * After the earthquake, only a few houses were left standing. 2 [V] ~ (up) to get up onto your feet from another position: Everyone stood when the President came in. * We stood up in order to get a better view. put upright 3 [VN+adv./prep.] to put sth/sb in an upright position somewhere: Stand the ladder up against the wall. * I stood the little girl on a chair so that she could see. be in place / condition 4 [V+adv./prep.] (written) to be in a particular place: The castle stands on the site of an ancient battlefield. * An old oak tree once stood here. 5 [V-ADJ] to be in a particular condition or situation: The house stood empty for a long time. * 'You're wrong about the date-it was 1988.' 'I stand corrected (= accept that I was wrong).' * [V] You never know where you stand with her-one minute she's friendly, the next she'll hardly speak to you. * As things stand, there is little chance of a quick settlement of the dispute. be at height / level 6 [V-N] (not used in the progressive tenses) to be a particular height: The tower stands 30 metres high. 7 [V] ~ at sth to be at a particular level, amount, height, etc: Interest rates stand at 3%. * The world record then stood at 6.59 metres. of car / train, etc. 8 [V+adv./prep.] to be in a particular place, especially while waiting to go somewhere: The train standing at platform 3 is for London, Victoria. of liquid / mixture 9 [V] to remain still, without moving or being moved: Mix the batter and let it stand for twenty minutes. * standing pools of rainwater offer / decision 10 [V] if an offer, a decision, etc. made earlier stands, it is still valid: My offer still stands. * The world record stood for 20 years. be likely to do sth 11 [Vtoinf] to be in a situation where you are likely to do sth: You stand to make a lot from this deal. have opinion 12 [V] ~ (on sth) to have a particular attitude or opinion about sth or towards sb: Where do you stand on private education? dislike 13 [nopassive] (not used in the progressive tenses) used especially in negative sentences and questions to emphasize that you do not like sb/sth: [VN] I can't stand his brother. * I can't stand the sight of blood. * I can't stand it when you do that. * [V-ing] She couldn't stand being kept waiting. * [VN-ing] I can't stand people interrupting all the time. * How do you stand him being here all the time? survive treatment 14 [VN] used especially with can/could to say that sb/sth can survive sth or can TOLERATE sth without being hurt or damaged: His heart won't stand the strain much longer. * Modern plastics can stand very high and very low temperatures. buy drink / meal 15 [nopassive] to buy a drink or meal for sb: [VN] He stood drinks all round. * [VNN] She was kind enough to stand us a meal. in election 16 (especially BrE) (AmE usually run) [V] ~ (for / as sth) to be a candidate in an election: He stood for parliament (= tried to get elected as an MP). * She stood unsuccessfully as a candidate in the local elections. IDIOMS Idioms containing stand are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example stand on ceremony is at ceremony. PHRASALVERBS stand aside 1 to move to one side: She stood aside to let us pass. 2 to not get involved in sth: Don't stand aside and let others do all the work. 3 to stop doing a job so sb else can do it stand back (from sth) 1 to move back from a place: The police ordered the crowd to stand back. 2 to be situated away from sth: The house stands back from the road. 3 to think about a situation as if you are not involved in it: It's time to stand back and look at your career so far. stand by 1 to be present while sth bad is happening but not do anything to stop it: How can you stand by and see him accused of something he didn't do? relatednounBYSTANDER 2 to be ready for action: The troops are standing by. relatednounSTANDBY stand by sb to help sb or be friends with them, even in difficult situations: her famous song, 'Stand by your man' stand by sth to still believe or agree with sth you said, decided or agreed earlier: She still stands by every word she said. stand down 1 ~ (as sth) to leave a job or position: He stood down to make way for someone younger. 2 (of a witness) to leave the STAND in a court of law after giving evidence stand for sth [nopassive] 1 (not used in the progressive tenses) to be an abbreviation or symbol of sth: 'The book's by T.C. Smith.' 'What does the 'T.C.' stand for?' 2 to support sth: I hated the organization and all it stood for (= the ideas that it supported). 3 (not stand for sth) to not let sb do sth or sth happen: I'm not standing for it any longer. stand in (for sb) to take sb's place SYNDEPUTIZE: My assistant will stand in for me while I'm away. relatednounSTAND-IN stand out (as sth) to be much better or more important than sb/sth: Four points stand out as being more important than the rest. seealsoOUTSTANDING stand out (from / against sth) to be easily seen; to be noticeable: The lettering stood out well against the dark background. * She's the sort of person who stands out in a crowd. stand over sb be near sb and watch them: I don't like you standing over me while I am cooking. stand up to be on your feet: There were no seats left so I had to stand up. * You'll look taller if you stand up straight. stand sb up (informal) to deliberately not meet sb you have arranged to meet, especially sb you are having a romantic relationship with: I've been stood up! stand up for sb/sth to support or defend sb/sth: Always stand up for your friends. * You must stand up for your rights. * She had learnt to stand up for herself. stand up (to sth) to remain valid even when tested, examined closely, etc: His argument simply doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. * I'm afraid this document will never stand up in a court of law. stand up to sb to resist sb; to not accept bad treatment from sb without complaining: It was brave of her to stand up to those bullies. stand up to sth (of materials, products, etc.) to remain in good condition in spite of rough treatment SYNWITHSTAND: The carpet is designed to stand up to a lot of wear and tear. noun opinion 1 [usuallysing.] an attitude towards sth or an opinion that you make clear to people: to take a firm / strong stand on sth * He was criticized for his tough stand on immigration. defence 2 [usuallysing.] a strong effort to defend yourself or your opinion about sth: We must make a stand against further job losses. * the rebels' desperate last stand for showing / holding sth 3 a table or an upright structure that goods are sold from, especially in the street or at a market SYNSTALL: a hamburger / ice cream / newspaper stand seealsoNEWS-STAND 4 (especially BrE) a table or an upright structure where things are displayed or advertised, for example at an EXHIBITION: a display / exhibition / trade stand * Oxford University Press's stand at the book fair 5 (often in compounds) a piece of equipment or furniture that you use for holding a particular type of thing: a bicycle / microphone / cake stand seealsoHATSTAND, MUSICSTAND, NIGHTSTAND, WASHSTAND at sports ground 6 a large sloping structure at a STADIUM with rows where people sit or stand to watch the game: We had seats in the east stand. seealsoGRANDSTAND in court of law 7 [usuallysing.] = WITNESSBOX: He took the stand as the first witness. in cricket 8 [usuallysing.] the period of time in which two people who are BATTING (= hitting the ball) play together and score points: Clinch and Harris shared an opening stand of 69. for band / orchestra, etc. 9 a raised platform for a band, an orchestra, a speaker, etc. seealsoBANDSTAND for taxis / buses, etc. 10 a place where taxis, buses, etc. park while they are waiting for passengers compareTAXIRANK of plants / trees 11 ~ (of sth) (technical) a group of plants or trees of one kind: a stand of pines seealsoHANDSTAND, ONE-NIGHTSTAND IDIOMS see FIRMadj.