11 Common Phrasal Verbs with "Stand" - Meanings and Example Sentences (Audio)

Stand for

to represent; to be a symbol for or sign of

LOL stands for “laugh out loud.”

YOLO stands for “you only live once.”

The color red stands for love and passion.

Stand up

similar to “to get up”; to rise from a bed or a chair and be on your feet

Stop sitting there! Stand up and walk with me.

He started to stand up as he spoke.

Stand up when I call your name.

Stand out

to look different from the crowd; to appear more special than other people

His red hair makes him stand out from the crowd.

Don’t try to stand out in a bad way.

She always stands out because she’s so pretty.

Stand down

to leave your job or position; to let someone else take your place

My dad stood down as chairman after three years.

I know he’s going to stand down. It’s time he took a rest.

He was forced to stand down.

Stand by

to be ready to do something; to not prevent something bad from happening when you should

I’ll be standing by in five minutes.

Let’s do something to stop our bankruptcy. Don’t just stand by.

How can you stand by while your dad is struggling with his cancer?

Stand up to

to not be damaged or harmed by something

How dare you stand up to me?

He managed to stand up to the collapse.

They’re going to stand up to their boss.

Stand back

to move backward

Stand back from the fight if you don’t want to get hurt.

Please stand back. I’ll show it on the screen.

Stand back from that man. He’s dangerous.

Stand up for

to defend someone or something that is being criticized

Don’t just be quiet. Stand up for your rights.

Stand up for yourself, now or never.

No one stood up for her except her old boss.

Stand over

to stand near someone and watch them

I don’t like him standing over me all the time.

My boss always stands over me while I’m working.

Please stand over the window and let me know if any guests are coming.

Stand in

to do the job that someone does; to replace someone

Don’t worry, I’ll stand in for you. Enjoy your trip.

Can you please ask Tim to stand in for me while I’m away?

Mike prepared the lessons so that he could stand in for Josh in case he was late again.

Stand against

to oppose someone or something

They’ve been standing against the government for years.

You may lose your job if you stand against him.

He dared to stand against his opponent in the meeting.

11 Common Phrasal Verbs with “Stand” – Meanings and Example Sentences (Audio)