- present participle of stand.
standing
Americannoun
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standings
plural
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rank or status, especially with respect to social, economic, or personal position, reputation, etc..
He had little standing in the community.
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good position, reputation, or credit.
He is a merchant of standing in the community.
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length of existence, continuance, residence, membership, experience, etc..
a friend of long standing.
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Sports. standings, a list of teams or contestants arranged according to their past records.
According to the standings, the White Sox are leading the division by three games.
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the act of a person or thing that stands.
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a place where a person or thing stands.
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Law. the right to initiate or participate in a legal action.
having standing as a friend of the court.
adjective
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having an erect or upright position.
a standing lamp.
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performed in or from an erect position.
a standing jump.
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still; not flowing or stagnant, as water; stationary.
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continuing without cessation or change; lasting or permanent.
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continuing in operation, force, use, etc..
a standing rule.
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customary or habitual; generally understood.
We have a standing bridge game every Friday night.
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Printing. kept for use in subsequent printings.
standing type.
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out of use; idle.
a standing engine.
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Nautical. noting any of various objects or assemblages of objects fixed in place or position, unless moved for adjustment or repairs.
standing bowsprit.
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Knots. noting the part of a rope that is in use and terminates in a knot or the like.
noun
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social or financial position, status, or reputation
a man of some standing
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length of existence, experience, etc
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(modifier) used to stand in or on
standing room
adjective
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athletics
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(of the start of a race) begun from a standing position without the use of starting blocks
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(of a jump, leap, etc) performed from a stationary position without a run-up
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(prenominal) permanent, fixed, or lasting
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(prenominal) still or stagnant
a standing pond
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printing (of type) set and stored for future use Compare dead
Synonym Usage
See credit.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of standing
A Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at stand, -ing 1, -ing 2
Explanation
The word standing is used for the reputation or rank of a person or institution. The new teacher's standing will be vastly improved if he throws a pizza party once a month. As a noun, standing is frequently used in sports for comparing one team's scores to all the others': "Our standings aren't great, but my softball team is plucky!" It also means "status" or "rank," like the social standing of aristocrats and nobles in medieval society. In law, if you have standing, you have cause to bring a lawsuit against someone else. When you use standing as an adjective, it means "upright" (like your mom's new standing desk) or "permanent" )like your grandparents' standing invitation to visit them any time).
Vocabulary lists containing standing
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Civilizations and Peoples of the Fertile Crescent, Lessons 3–4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Everyone has the same end goal and wants to be part of RummiKlub because it’s this curated event and night out that’s different from the traditional going for drinks and standing at a bar.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"You feel exhausted, it's mostly mental fatigue," he said while standing next to a group of friends wearing orange vests and helmets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Bates, an uncapped Australian spinner, finished as the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker with 13, at an average of 14.46, while Phillips has bucked the general trend by standing out as an English domestic player.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Josh kind of stood out, literally, in that he was standing outside the circle,” Golden recalled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Fire-blackened woods, the gaunt ribs of a church standing over a ruined village.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The Dodgers’ series against the Brewers set up a chance for the home team to claw back onto the top of the National League standings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
She will begin the second heptathlon session on Friday evening in 10th position, after climbing up the standings with a clearance over 1.83 metres in the high jump.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Sitting in first in the DP World Tour’s standings, he’s on track to do just that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Chicago now owns the tiebreaker with a 2-1 season series record and is as many games behind the Mystics, dropping the Sparks further down in the standings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
When the final standings went up, I’d find out with everyone else where I ranked.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
