stand around

phrasal verb

stood around; standing around; stands around
: to stand without doing anything
People were standing around waiting to get inside the theater.

Examples of stand around in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
No matter the time of day, there’s usually a cluster of people standing around it, each of them filling up empty bottles and gallon jugs. Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 2 Sep. 2025 They were not allowed to say goodbye to the two men who were arrested, and they were forced to stand around for about three hours while the federal agents checked their records. Janhvi Bhojwani, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2025 Most of the elk were just standing around listening, much the same as me. Jim Tschetter, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2025 Traditional production still relies on hundreds of people standing around waiting for the next shot, a process that makes films expensive and slow. Charlie Fink, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stand around

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stand around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand%20around. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!