stand up

verb

stood up; standing up; stands up

intransitive verb

1

: to rise to a standing position

2

: to remain sound and intact under stress, attack, or close scrutiny

need evidence that will stand up in court

transitive verb

informal

: to fail to keep an appointment with

Where were you yesterday? You stood me up.

see also:

stand up for stand up to stand up with

Synonyms of stand up

• fly
• work
• hold up

Examples of stand up in a Sentence

a hypothesis that won't stand up to close analysis

Recent Examples on the Web

The idea that enterprise companies across the globe would risk their data by attempting to stand up their own cybersecurity solutions by leveraging an AI model is, indeed, proving fanciful. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 4 June 2026

In this episode, Patricia finally stands up for herself, confronting not just the Boogeyman but also the women who have spent decades alienating her. —Jen Chaney, Vulture, 3 June 2026

In fiscal year 2026, the US Department of War (DoW) stood up the Munitions Acceleration Council (MAC). —Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026

The moment drew praise and criticism from residents, with some speakers arguing commissioners were standing up for female students while others said transgender students were being singled out. —Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for stand up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

stand up

verb

1

: to rise to a standing position

2

: to remain in good condition

stands up to repeated washings

3

: to fail to keep an appointment with