INDEX:
to stand upright on your feet
1. to be in a standing position
2. to stand after sitting or lying down
3. to stand with your back straight
4. to put your foot on something
to accept an unpleasant situation
5. to accept an unpleasant situation
6. something unpleasant that you can stand
7. when a situation is so bad that you cannot stand it
RELATED WORDS
to get up after being asleep : ↑ WAKE UP/GET UP
see also
↑ SIT
↑ LIE
↑ BEND (2)
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1. to be in a standing position
▷ stand /stænd/ [intransitive verb]
to be on your feet in an upright position :
▪ There were no seats, so we had to stand.
stand next to/beside/in etc
▪ I was standing next to the entrance.
▪ A young girl stood in the doorway, sheltering from the rain.
▪ When we entered, he was standing by his desk.
▪ A hundred policemen stood arm-in-arm in front of the cathedral.
stand doing something
stand while you are doing something
▪ She stood watching him as he turned to go.
stand and do something
▪ I stood and stared at him in amazement.
stand up straight
with your back and legs straight
▪ The ceilings were so low that Mark couldn’t stand up straight.
stand still
stand without moving
▪ Stand still while I brush your hair.
▪ He stood still, his feet rooted to the ground in fear.
▷ stand up /ˌstænd ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to stand rather than be sitting, lying down, or kneeling :
▪ It’s generally better to do this exercise standing up.
▪ The seats were all taken and we had to stand up all the way from Tokyo to Nagoya.
▷ be on your feet /biː ɒn jɔːʳ ˈfiːt/ [verb phrase]
to be standing, especially for a long time, with the result that you feel tired - use this especially about people who have to stand and walk a lot in their jobs :
▪ You go. I’ve been on my feet all day, and I need a rest.
▪ She’d been on her feet all morning without once sitting down.
▷ on tiptoe/on tiptoes also on your tiptoes /ɒn ˈtɪptəʊ(z), ɒn jɔːʳ ˈtɪptəʊz/ [adverb]
standing on your toes, especially when you stretch your body in order to see something or reach something :
▪ She was up on her tiptoes, with her arm about his neck.
stand on tiptoe
▪ She stood on her tiptoes to open the high window.
▪ People were standing on tiptoe to try and see what was happening.
▷ lean /liːn/ [intransitive verb]
to stand while resting part of your body against a wall, a table etc :
lean against/on
▪ Kay was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette.
▪ Joe leaned on the gate and watched as they drove away.
2. to stand after sitting or lying down
▷ get up /ˌget ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to stand after you have been sitting, bending, or lying down :
▪ She got up and turned off the TV.
▪ I can’t get up. Give me a hand, will you?
▪ I watched how slowly he got up, how stiff he seemed.
get up from a chair/seat/sofa etc
▪ Max got up from his chair and shook her hand.
▪ When Maura came in, he got up from the table and poured the coffee.
get up off the floor/ground/grass etc
▪ One of her friends helped her to get up off the floor.
▪ I got up off the grass and strolled over to where Rob was sitting.
get up to do something/get up and do something
▪ I was left with Maria when the others got up to dance.
▷ stand up /ˌstænd ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to stand after you have been sitting :
▪ ‘I have to go now,’ she said, standing up.
▪ Could you all stand up please.
▪ He stood up to shake Mel’s hand.
▪ Abruptly she stood up, and got ready to leave.
▷ get to your feet /ˌget tə jɔːʳ ˈfiːt/ [verb phrase]
to stand up, especially slowly or when it is difficult for you :
▪ He got to his feet, and we shook hands.
▪ My attorney got slowly to his feet, breathing heavily.
▷ rise /raɪz/ [intransitive verb] formal
to stand up - use this especially in descriptions of events and formal ceremonies :
▪ The old woman rose stiffly and held out her hand.
▪ The congregation rose as the bride entered the cathedral.
rise from your seat/the table/a chair etc
▪ The chairman had already risen from his seat and was beginning his speech.
rise to your feet
▪ Audience members rose to their feet, cheering and clapping.
▷ stand to do something /ˌstænd tə ˈduː something/ [verb phrase]
to stand up in order to do something, especially at a special event or formal occasion :
▪ The Senate stood to welcome the new President.
▪ Would you all please stand to sing hymn 106?
3. to stand with your back straight
▷ stand up straight /ˌstænd ʌp ˈstreɪt/ [verb phrase]
▪ Stand up straight with your back against the wall.
▪ The pain in his stomach was so severe that he could no longer stand up straight.
▷ stand to attention also stand at attention /ˌstænd tʊ əˈtenʃ ə n, ˌstænd ət əˈtenʃ ə n/ [verb phrase]
if someone such as a soldier or a police officer stands to attention, they stand with their backs straight, their arms straight down by their sides, and their feet close together :
▪ The colonel gave the order for the men to stand to attention.
▪ We stood at attention until we were given permission to leave.
▷ draw/pull yourself up to your full height /ˌdrɔː, ˌpʊl jɔːʳself ˌʌp tə jɔːʳ ˌfʊl ˈhaɪt/ [verb phrase]
to stand up as straight as you can because you are angry with someone or are determined to make them listen to you :
▪ I drew myself up to my full height and informed him that the President had sent me down here personally.
▪ Trembling inside, I stepped out of the car and pulled myself up to my full height to face my adversary.
▷ straighten up /ˌstreɪtn ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to stand up after bending down low :
▪ She bent over the body, and when she straightened up there were tears in her eyes.
▪ If you’re lifting something heavy, be careful not to hurt your back when you straighten up.
4. to put your foot on something
▷ step on/in also tread on/in British /ˈstep ɒn, ɪn, ˈtred ɒn, ɪn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to put your foot down on something while you are standing or walking, especially accidentally :
▪ I think I must have stepped on some glass.
▪ I trod in some mud in the park, and tracked it into the house.
▪ Ow, you trod on my foot, you clumsy brute!
▷ stamp on /ˈstæmp ɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to deliberately put your foot down very hard on something :
▪ There was a big cockroach in the kitchen and Barbara stamped on it.
▪ In a recent incident, youths stamped on a police officer’s head as she lay injured.
5. to accept an unpleasant situation
▷ put up with /ˌpʊt ˈʌp wɪð/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to accept an annoying situation or someone’s annoying behaviour, without trying to stop it or change it :
▪ I don’t know how you put up with all this noise day after day.
▪ You see what I have to put up with - the kids never stop arguing.
▪ Well, you put up with the danger and bad conditions, because you need to feed your family.
▷ can stand /kən ˈstænd/ [verb phrase not in progressive or passive]
to accept or be forced to accept an unpleasant situation :
▪ Don’t bring me your problems, I’ve already got as much trouble as I can stand.
▪ There are cats in every room. I don’t know how she can stand it.
can stand doing something
▪ I don’t think I’ll be able to stand sharing an office with Dana.
stand another hour/minute/moment etc
▪ Can you stand another minute of this awful music? Shall I turn it off?
▷ bear /beəʳ/ []
to accept pain or an unpleasant situation that makes you angry, sad, or upset :
▪ My leg really hurts -- I’m not sure how much longer I can bear it.
▪ Talking to a counsellor can help divorcees to bear the pain of separation.
▪ The trial was a great scandal but she bore it all with courage and dignity.
be hard to bear
▪ Her loneliness was hard to bear, after her husband died.
▷ tolerate /ˈtɒləreɪtǁˈtɑː-/ [transitive verb]
to accept an annoying situation or someone’s annoying behaviour, without trying to stop it or change it. Tolerate is more formal than put up with :
▪ She seems to be able to tolerate any kind of behaviour from the students.
▪ For years, the workers have had to tolerate low wages and terrible working conditions.
▪ If you can tolerate the side-effects, HRT can help the symptoms enormously.
▷ endure /ɪnˈdjʊəʳǁɪnˈdʊər/ [transitive verb] written
to accept or be forced to accept a very unpleasant or difficult situation for a long time :
▪ She endured a barrage of open abuse and racism during her time at college.
▪ The people in this country have endured almost a decade of economic hardship.
▷ take/handle /teɪk, ˈhændl/ [transitive verb] informal
to accept an unpleasant situation or someone’s unpleasant behaviour without becoming upset :
▪ I’ve tried to be understanding, but quite honestly, this is more than I can take.
▪ Tell me what happened -- I can handle it.
▪ Are you going to argue with me, or are you just going to stand there and take it?
▷ live with /ˈlɪv wɪð/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to accept an unpleasant situation as a permanent part of your life that you cannot change :
▪ You have to learn to live with stress.
▪ I found the burden of guilt very difficult to live with.
▪ None of us really like the new system, but we’ve got to learn to live with it.
live with yourself
accept something bad or wrong that you have done
▪ You should be careful before you do anything rash. Remember, you’ll have to live with yourself afterwards.
▷ be hard to stomach /biː ˌhɑːʳd tə ˈstʌmək/ [verb phrase]
to be difficult for you to accept :
▪ Every year the Christmas shopping season seems to start earlier, a fact which many people find hard to stomach.
▪ I found this lecture from Chris of all people hard to stomach.
▷ grin and bear it /ˌgrɪn ən ˈbeər ɪt/ [verb phrase] spoken
to accept an unpleasant or difficult situation as happily as you can, because you cannot change it :
▪ Well, I said to myself, I’ll just have to grin and bear it.
▪ The message was clear - no matter how insulting passengers became, we couldn’t do anything but grin and bear it.
6. something unpleasant that you can stand
▷ bearable /ˈbe ə rəb ə l/ [adjective not before noun]
a situation or type of behaviour that is bearable is difficult or unpleasant, but you are just able to bear it :
▪ The only things that made her life bearable were the occasional visits from her grandchildren.
▪ His leg hasn’t quite healed yet, but pain-killers make it bearable.
▷ tolerable /ˈtɒl ə rəb ə lǁˈtɑː-/ [adjective]
a situation that is tolerable is bad but you are able to accept it and deal with it :
▪ It was a tolerable existence, but only just.
▪ The new measures can only hope to keep fraud at tolerable levels.
▪ An active social life may make the boredom of work more tolerable.
7. when a situation is so bad that you cannot stand it
▷ can’t stand also can’t bear especially British /ˌkɑːnt ˈstænd, ˌkɑːnt ˈbeəʳǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
to be unable to accept an unpleasant situation :
▪ Europeans never stay there for long. They can’t stand the heat.
▪ I can’t bear the smell of stale cigarette smoke in her hair.
can’t stand/bear the thought of something
▪ She couldn’t stand the thought of losing her children.
can’t stand/bear to do something/can’t stand/bear doing something
▪ I couldn’t bear to listen to her screams.
▷ can’t take/handle /ˌkɑːnt ˈteɪk, ˈhændlǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to be unable to accept an unpleasant situation without becoming angry or upset, especially when someone’s behaviour is not fair or reasonable :
▪ Careful what you say - he can’t take criticism.
▪ She just keeps crying and throwing tantrums - I can’t handle much more of it.
can’t take/handle something any more
▪ I just couldn’t take it any more. I left the next day.
▷ can’t stomach /ˌkɑːnt ˈstʌməkǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
to be unable to stand something because thinking about it makes you feel sick or angry :
▪ He really can’t stomach the sight of blood.
▷ can’t abide /ˌkɑːnt əˈbaɪdǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase] formal
to be completely unable to stand someone or something that is very annoying :
▪ If there’s one thing I cannot abide, it’s spoilt children.
▪ Mary couldn’t abide shopping on Saturdays because the stores were always so crowded.
▷ unbearable /ʌnˈbe ə rəb ə l/ [adjective]
something that is unbearable, such as a pain or a bad situation, is too bad for you to deal with or live with :
▪ Without him, my life would be unbearable.
▪ The stench from the sink was almost unbearable.
▪ The strain eventually became unbearable, and Adam started seeing a psychiatrist.
▷ intolerable /ɪnˈtɒl ə rəb ə lǁ-ˈtɑː-/ [adjective]
too difficult, unpleasant, or annoying to stand :
▪ Living conditions at the camp were intolerable.
▪ Passengers faced intolerable delays and disruption due to the bad weather conditions.
▪ All the media attention during the trial had put the family under intolerable strain.
intolerably [adverb]
▪ I’m sorry, I behaved intolerably.
▪ an intolerably stupid question
▷ unacceptable /ˌʌnəkˈseptəb ə l/ [adjective]
something that is unacceptable is wrong and cannot be accepted or allowed to continue :
▪ Most women said they thought the ruling was unfair and unacceptable.
▪ The plan was rejected because it involved an "unacceptable risk to public safety'.
▪ We regard the idea of being able to choose the sex of your baby as wholly unacceptable.
unacceptably [adverb]
▪ The payroll tax is an unacceptably heavy burden on working Americans.
▪ His work is unacceptably sloppy.