stand
verb (used without object)
(of a person) to be in an upright position on the feet.
had been standing
-
past perfect progressiveof stand.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
"We spend as many hours as we have to, depending on how much we need it," said Raoni Izaguirre, who had been standing in line for an hour under the blazing sun.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Nomadic Aviation Group, his company, had been standing by for months as Spirit teetered closer to the brink.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
She said she had been standing on a chair and the accused was underneath her looking at a lower shelf.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026
“I knew that flower guy is always there and I live nearby so I drove right over,” she said as she stood on the corner where he had been standing 20 minutes earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2025
When we got out of her car, I saw that Mr. Castellan had been standing at the edge of his property, watching us through the metalwork on his fence.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
