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If you stand pat in draw poker you're betting on the cards in your hand being better than any you're likely to draw. It didn't take long for stand pat to move from the poker table, where it first appeared in the late 1800s, to the realm of politics; by the early 20th century, to stand pat was to oppose any change in U.S. tariff policy. The term continues to be used mainly in U.S. English, where it's applied to everything from a coach's decision not to change out players during a game to a homeowner's decision not to refinance. The nouns standpatter ("one who resists or opposes change") and standpattism ("resistance to change" or "reluctance to take positive action") are also used, although generally only in political contexts.
Synonyms
Examples of standpat in a Sentence
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
Last year’s starter, Donovan Smith, is a free agent, and the Chiefs seem unlikely to stand pat given their current situation.
—Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2024
The central bank seems to view most of the risk being on the upside, so Jerome Powell & co. have been more than happy to stand pat as the economy rumbles on relatively undisturbed by their interference.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2024
The Nuggets stood pat at the deadline, with their lone deal involving the rights to a player who wasn’t even on their 18-man roster.
—Aaron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post, 9 Feb. 2024
If the Broncos mostly stand pat from here, the club may opt for the former option.
—Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Baseball’s absurd free agent market – one that desperately needed revamping in the last round of collective bargaining, only for the player’s union to errantly stand pat – is self correcting.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2024
The Nuggets explored the market but ultimately stood pat due to a combination of factors that limited their ability to execute a beneficial deal.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2024
And the Reds aren’t taking any victory laps in January – nor are the Cubs planning to stand pat.
—The Enquirer, 4 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'standpat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near standpat
Cite this Entry
“Standpat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standpat. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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stand pat
verb
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