1
a
: not yet cut or harvested
standing timber
standing grain
b
: upright on the feet or base : erect
the standing audience
2
: not flowing : stagnant
standing water
3
a
: remaining at the same level, degree, or amount for an indeterminate period
a standing offer
b
: continuing in existence or use indefinitely
a standing joke
4
: established by law or custom
5
: not movable
6
: done from a standing position
a standing jump
a standing ovation
1
2
a
: length of service or experience especially as determining rank, pay, or privilege
b
: position or condition in society or in a profession
especially
: good reputation
a member in good standing
3
: maintenance of position or condition : duration
a custom of long standing
Examples of standing in a Sentence
Adjective
Start the exercise in a standing position.
The standing offer for the computer system is $1,499.
Noun
a lawyer of high standing
They've won five games in a row and are starting to move up in the standings.
They're in first place in the current standings.
a marriage of many years' standing
Recent Examples on the Web
Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Abrego Garcia, currently in immigration custody, became a symbol of the administration’s hardline deportation policies after courts ruled his initial expulsion to El Salvador violated a standing order.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Engage your core, keep a slight knee bent, and slowly shift your weight onto the standing leg.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for standing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Spokesperson for The Boca Raton Anne Marie Connolly told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that most standing water receded Monday morning.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Abrego Garcia, currently in immigration custody, became a symbol of the administration’s hardline deportation policies after courts ruled his initial expulsion to El Salvador violated a standing order.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
Like those film noir classics, the episode begins in black and white, with Clarkson standing center stage in front of her band to sing her latest Kellyoke pick.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Engage your core, keep a slight knee bent, and slowly shift your weight onto the standing leg.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for standing
Cite this Entry
“Standing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standing. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
standing
2 of 2 noun1
: the action or position of one that stands
2
: length of existence or service : duration
a quarrel of long standing
3
a
: position or rank as compared with others
had the highest standing in the class
b
: good reputation
people of standing in the community
Legal Definition
standing
1 of 2 adjective
stand·ing
: continuing in existence, use, or effect indefinitely
a standing order
standing
2 of 2 noun1
: the status of being qualified to assert or enforce legal rights or duties in a judicial forum because one has a sufficient and protectable interest in the outcome of a justiciable controversy and usually has suffered or is threatened with actual injury
only one who already has standing can argue the public interest in support of his claim—Hawaii's Thousand Friends v. Anderson, 768 P.2d 1293 (1989)
Hawaii's Thousand Friends v. Anderson, 768 P.2d 1293 (1989)2
: a principle requiring that a party have standing in order to justify the exercise of the court's remedial powers
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