/ stænd; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( stood , stood / stʊd; NAmE /)
ON FEET / BE VERTICAL
1.
to be on your feet; to be in a vertical position :
[ v ]
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.
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 .
[ v - adj ]
Stand still while I take your photo.
2.
[ v ] stand (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 a vertical 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. ] 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 ] stand 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.
[ v to inf ] 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 ] stand (on sth) to have a particular attitude or opinion about sth or towards sb :
Where do you stand on private education?
DISLIKE
13.
[ no passive ] (not used in the progressive tenses) used especially in negative sentences and questions to emphasize that you do not like sb/sth
SYN bear :
[ 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?
➡ note at hate
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.
[ no passive ] 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.
[ v ] ( especially BrE ) ( NAmE usually run ) stand (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 .
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- stand aside
- stand back (from sth)
- stand between sb/sth and sth
- stand by
- stand by sb
- stand by sth
- stand down
- stand for sth
- stand in (for sb)
- stand out (as sth)
- stand out (from / against sth)
- stand over sb
- stand up
- stand sb up
- stand up for sb/sth
- stand up (to sth)
- stand up to sb
- stand up to sth
■ noun
OPINION
1.
[ usually sing. ] stand (on sth) an attitude towards sth or an opinion that you make clear to people :
to take a firm stand on sth
He was criticized for his tough stand on immigration.
DEFENCE
2.
[ usually sing. ] 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 a vertical structure that goods are sold from, especially in the street or at a market
SYN stall :
a hamburger / newspaper stand
—see also news-stand
4.
( especially BrE ) a table or a vertical structure where things are displayed or advertised, for example at an exhibition :
a display / an exhibition / a trade stand
5.
(often in compounds) a piece of equipment or furniture that you use for holding a particular type of thing :
a bicycle / microphone / cake, etc. stand
—picture at bicycle
—see also hatstand , music stand , nightstand , washstand
AT SPORTS GROUND
6.
a large sloping structure at a stadium with rows where people sit or stand to watch the game
—see also grandstand
IN COURT
7.
[ usually sing. ] = witness box :
He took the stand as the first witness.
IN CRICKET
8.
[ usually sing. ] 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.
—see also bandstand
FOR TAXIS / BUSES, etc.
10.
a place where taxis, buses, etc. park while they are waiting for passengers
—compare taxi rank
OF PLANTS / TREES
11.
stand (of sth) ( technical ) a group of plants or trees of one kind :
a stand of pines
OF LAND
12.
( SAfrE ) a piece of land that you can buy and use for building a house, etc. on :
A developer bought the land and divided it into stands.
—see also handstand , one-night stand
•
IDIOMS
see firm adjective
••
SYNONYMS
stand
get up ♦ stand up ♦ rise ♦ get to your feet ♦ be on your feet
These words all mean to to be in an upright position with your weight on your feet, or to put yourself in this position.
stand
to be in an upright position with your weight on your feet :
She was too weak to stand.
•
Stand still when I'm talking to you!
NOTE
Stand is usually used with an adverb or prepositional phrase to show where or how sb stands, but sometimes another phrase or clause is used to show what sb does while they are standing:
We stood talking for a few minutes.
•
He stood and looked out to sea.
get up
to get into a standing position from a sitting, kneeling or lying position:
Please don't get up!
stand up
to be in a standing position; to stand after sitting:
Stand up straight!
•
Everyone would stand up when the teacher entered the classroom.
stand, get up or stand up?
Stand usually means 'to be in a standing position' but can also mean 'to get into a standing position'. Stand up can be used with either of these meanings, but its use is more restricted: it is used especially when sb tells sb or a group of people to stand, or when sb has to stand up (for example, because there is nowhere to sit). Get up is the most frequent way of saying 'get into a standing position', and this can be from a sitting, kneeling or lying position; if you stand up , this is nearly always after sitting, especially on a chair: I stood up from the grass. If you want to tell sb politely that they do not need to move from their chair, use get up : Please don't stand up!
rise
( formal ) to get into a standing position from a sitting, kneeling or lying position:
Would you all rise, please, to welcome our visiting speaker.
get to your feet
to stand up after sitting, kneeling or lying:
I helped her to get to her feet.
be on your feet
to be standing up:
I've been on my feet all day.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to get up / stand up / rise from sth
to stand / get up / stand up / rise / get to your feet quickly / slowly
to stand / stand up straight
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English standan (verb), stand (noun), of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin stare and Greek histanai , also by the noun stead .