stand Meaning, Definition & Usage

Stand intransitive verb

Etymology

OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, stan, D. staan, OS. standan, stan, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae, Sw. stå, Goth. standan, Russ. stoiate, L. stare, Gr. to cause to stand, to stand, Skr. stha. *163. Cf. Assist, Constant, Contrast, Desist, Destine, Ecstasy, Exist, Interstice, Obstacle, Obstinate, Prest, n., Rest remainder, Soltice, Stable, a. & n., State, n., Statute, Stead, Steed, Stool, Stud of horses, Substance, System.

Wordforms

imperfect & past participle Stood ; present participle & verbal noun Standing

Definitions

1. To be at rest in an erect position; to be fixed in an upright or firm position; as: (a) To be supported on the feet, in an erect or nearly erect position; -- opposed to lie, sit, kneel, etc. "I pray you all, stand up!" Shak. (b) To continue upright in a certain locality, as a tree fixed by the roots, or a building resting on its foundation.

   It stands as it were to the ground yglued. Chaucer.

   The ruined wall Stands when its wind worn battlements are gone. Byron.

2. To occupy or hold a place; to have a situation; to be situated or located; as, Paris stands on the Seine.

   Wite ye not where there stands a little town? Chaucer.

3. To cease from progress; not to proceed; to stop; to pause; to halt; to remain stationary.

   I charge thee, stand, And tell thy name. Dryden.

   The star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. Matt. ii. 9.

4. To remain without ruin or injury; to hold good against tendencies to impair or injure; to be permanent; to endure; to last; hence, to find endurance, strength, or resources.

   My mind on its own center stands unmoved. Dryden.

5. To maintain one's ground; to be acquitted; not to fail or yield; to be safe.

   Readers by whose judgment I would stand or fall. Spectator.

6. To maintain an invincible or permanent attitude; to be fixed, steady, or firm; to take a position in resistance or opposition. "The standing pattern of their imitation." South.

   The king granted the Jews . . . to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life. Esther viii. 11.

7. To adhere to fixed principles; to maintain moral rectitude; to keep from falling into error or vice.

   We must labor so as to stand with godliness, according to his appointment. Latimer.

8. To have or maintain a position, order, or rank; to be in a particular relation; as, Christian charity, or love, stands first in the rank of gifts.
9. To be in some particular state; to have essence or being; to be; to consist. "Sacrifices . . . which stood only in meats and drinks." Heb. ix. 10.

   Accomplish what your signs foreshow; I stand resigned, and am prepared to go. Dryden.

   Thou seest how it stands with me, and that I may not tarry. Sir W. Scott.

10. To be consistent; to agree; to accord.

    Doubt me not; by heaven, I will do nothing But what may stand with honor. Massinger.

11. (Naut.) To hold a course at sea; as, to stand from the shore; to stand for the harbor.

    From the same parts of heaven his navy stands. Dryden.

12. To offer one's self, or to be offered, as a candidate.

    He stood to be elected one of the proctors of the university. Walton.

13. To stagnate; not to flow; to be motionless.

    Or the black water of Pomptina stands. Dryden.

14. To measure when erect on the feet.

    Six feet two, as I think, he stands. Tennyson.

15. (Law) (a) To be or remain as it is; to continue in force; to have efficacy or validity; to abide. Bouvier. (b) To appear in court. Burrill. usu. stand to reason.

Stand transitive verb

Definitions

1. To endure; to sustain; to bear; as, I can not stand the cold or the heat.
2. To resist, without yielding or receding; to withstand. "Love stood the siege." Dryden.

   He stood the furious foe. Pope.

3. To abide by; to submit to; to suffer.

   Bid him disband his legions, . . . And stand the judgment of a Roman senate. Addison.

4. To set upright; to cause to stand; as, to stand a book on the shelf; to stand a man on his feet.
5. To be at the expense of; to pay for; as, to stand a treat. Colloq. Tackeray.

Stand noun

Etymology

As. stand. See Stand, v. i.

Definitions

1. The act of standing.

   I took my stand upon an eminence . . . to look into thier several ladings. Spectator.

2. A halt or stop for the purpose of defense, resistance, or opposition; as, to come to, or to make, a stand.

   Vice is at stand, and at the highest flow. Dryden.

3. A place or post where one stands; a place where one may stand while observing or waiting for something.

   I have found you out a stand most fit, Where you may have such vantage on the duke, He shall not pass you. Shak.

4. A station in a city or town where carriages or wagons stand for hire; as, a cab stand. Dickens.
5. A raised platform or station where a race or other outdoor spectacle may be viewed; as, the judge's or the grand stand at a race course.
6. A small table; also, something on or in which anything may be laid, hung, or placed upright; as, a hat stand; an umbrella stand; a music stand.
7. A place where a witness stands to testify in court.
8. The situation of a shop, store, hotel, etc.; as, a good, bad, or convenient stand for business. U. S.
9. Rank; post; station; standing.

   Father, since your fortune did attain So high a stand, I mean not to descend. Daniel.

10. A state of perplexity or embarrassment; as, to be at a stand what to do. L'Estrange.
11. A young tree, usually reserved when other trees are cut; also, a tree growing or standing upon its own root, in distinction from one produced from a scion set in a stock, either of the same or another kind of tree.
12. (Com.) A weight of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds, -- used in weighing pitch. Syn. -- Stop; halt; rest; interruption; obstruction; perplexity; difficulty; embarrassment; hesitation.