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.
There’s a lot of standing around, but Sophia has only one gear, and that’s top gear. Matt Le Cren, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026 On a recent Friday, behind a cobalt-blue one, several stood around the kitchen of an East Side brownstone, ready to cook. Jane Bua, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026 Later in the video, officers deploy chemical irritants in the street as a number of other people shout, honk their horns or stand around filming the scene on their phones. Faris Tanyos, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026 McVay stood in the visitors locker room after the game and looked at the faces of the players standing around him. Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stand around

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Cite this Entry

“Stand around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand%20around. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.

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