- 1 [intransitive] to be on your feet; to be in a vertical position 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. + adj. Stand still while I take your photo. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverberect, tall, upright, … verb + standbe able to, can, be unable to, … phrasesbe left standing, stand rooted to the spot See full entry
- 2 [intransitive] to get up onto your feet from another position Everyone stood when the President came in. stand up We stood up in order to get a better view. Synonymsstandget up stand up rise get to your feet be on your feetThese words all mean 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! Stand is usually used with an adverb or prepositional phrase to show where or how somebody stands, but sometimes another phrase or clause is used to show what somebody 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 somebody tells somebody or a group of people to stand. 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. If you want to tell somebody 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. put upright
- 3[transitive] stand something/somebody + adv./prep. to put something/somebody 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. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverberect, tall, upright, … verb + standbe able to, can, be unable to, … phrasesbe left standing, stand rooted to the spot See full entry be in place/condition
- 4 [intransitive] + 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[intransitive] (+ 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).’ 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[intransitive] + noun (not used in the progressive tenses) to be a particular height The tower stands 30 metres high.
- 7[intransitive] stand at something 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[intransitive] + 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[intransitive] 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[intransitive] 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 something
- 11[intransitive] stand to do something to be in a situation where you are likely to do something You stand to make a lot from this deal. have opinion
- 12[intransitive] stand (on something) to have a particular attitude or opinion about something or towards somebody Where do you stand on private education? dislike
- 13 [transitive, no passive] (not used in the progressive tenses) used especially in negative sentences and questions to emphasize that you do not like somebody/something synonym bear stand somebody/something I can't stand his brother. I can't stand the sight of blood. I can't stand it when you do that. stand doing something She couldn't stand being kept waiting. stand somebody/something doing something I can't stand people interrupting all the time. How do you stand him being here all the time? Synonymshatedislike can’t stand despise can’t bear loathe detestThese words all mean to have a strong feeling of dislike for somebody/something.hate to have a strong feeling of dislike for somebody/something. Although hate is generally a very strong verb, it is also commonly used in spoken or informal English to talk about people or things that you dislike in a less important way, for example a particular type of food:He hates violence in any form. I’ve always hated cabbage.dislike (rather formal) to not like somebody/something. Dislike is a rather formal word; it is less formal, and more usual, to say that you don’t like somebody/something, especially in spoken English:I don’t like it when you phone me so late at night.can’t stand (rather informal) used to emphasize that you really do not like somebody/something:I can’t stand his brother. She couldn’t stand being kept waiting.despise to dislike and have no respect for somebody/something:He despised himself for being so cowardly.can’t bear used to say that you dislike something so much that you cannot accept or deal with it:I can’t bear having cats in the house.can’t stand or can’t bear?In many cases you can use either word, but can’t bear is slightly stronger and slightly more formal than can’t stand. loathe to hate somebody/something very much:They loathe each other. Loathe is generally an even stronger verb than hate, but it can also be used more informally to talk about less important things, meaning ‘really don’t like’:Whether you love or loathe their music, you can’t deny their talent.detest (rather formal) to hate somebody/something very much:They absolutely detest each other.Patterns I hate/dislike/can’t stand/can’t bear/loathe/detest doing something. I hate/can’t bear to do something. I hate/dislike/can’t stand/can’t bear it when… I really hate/dislike/can’t stand/despise/can’t bear/detest somebody/something. I absolutely hate/can’t stand/loathe/detest somebody/something. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + standcan, cannot, can hardly, … See full entry survive treatment
- 14 [transitive] stand something used especially with can/could to say that somebody/something can survive something or can tolerate something without being hurt or damaged His heart won't stand the strain much longer. Modern plastics can stand very high and very low temperatures. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + standcan, cannot, can hardly, … See full entry buy drink/meal
- 15[transitive, no passive] to buy a drink or meal for somebody stand something He stood drinks all round. stand somebody something She was kind enough to stand us a meal. in election
- 16 (especially British English) (usually North American English run) [intransitive] stand (for/as something) 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. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbsuccessfully, unsuccessfully verb + standdecide to, be allowed to prepositionagainst, as, for, … phrasessomebody’s decision to stand, stand for election See full entry See related entries: Elections Word OriginOld 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.Extra examples After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing. Don’t just stand there—do something. He felt so weak he could hardly stand. He is standing for Oxford East in the election. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, not sure what to say. Her parents stood proudly at her side. I can’t stand that man! I don’t know how you can stand the heat. I stood there staring at him. I tried to stand up and found myself in agony. She stood on tiptoe to reach the shelf. She stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move or speak. She stood unsuccessfully as a candidate in the local elections. Stand still while I take your photo. Surely the world cannot stand idly by and let this country go through the agony of war yet again? The roof was so low I could not stand upright. Two candidates will be standing against her. You’ll look taller if you stand up straight. Books stood in piles in the corner. Everyone stood when the president entered the room. He could stand the pain no more. He stood and looked out to sea. He was standing on a chair, trying to change a light bulb. His heart won’t stand the strain much longer. How can you stand it here? How could she have stood such treatment for so long? I can’t stand his brother. I can’t stand it when you do that. I can’t stand people interrupting all the time! I can’t stand the sight of blood. I’m not sure if the bookcase can stand any more weight. She couldn’t stand being kept waiting. She stood by the window, gazing out. Stand still when I’m talking to you! The kids were standing around chatting. There were several people standing at the counter. We stood talking for a few minutes.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 Verbsstand asidestand backstand between andstand bystand downstand forstand instand outstand overstand upstand up forstand up to
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BrE BrE//stænd//; NAmE NAmE//stænd//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they stand BrE BrE//stænd//; NAmE NAmE//stænd//
he / she / it stands BrE BrE//stændz//; NAmE NAmE//stændz//
past simple stood BrE BrE//stʊd//; NAmE NAmE//stʊd//
past participle stood BrE BrE//stʊd//; NAmE NAmE//stʊd//
-ing form standing BrE BrE//ˈstændɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈstændɪŋ//
ElectionsCheck pronunciation: stand
