stand on
Britishverb
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(adverb) to continue to navigate a vessel on the same heading
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(preposition) to insist on
to stand on ceremony
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informal to be independent or self-reliant
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Be based on, depend on, as in Our success will stand on their support . [c. 1600]
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Insist on observance of, as in Let's not stand on ceremony . This usage today is nearly always put in a negative context. [Mid-1500s]
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.
“She wasn’t one to stand on the sidelines,” Anthony Liuzzo told me.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Coming in after the record-breaking opening stand on Sunday, Root enjoyed a rare opportunity to cut loose, with his strike-rate of 154.17 the highest of any ODI score over 50 in his ODI career.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
“I spent my whole childhood standing on marks that other people told me to stand on and saying lines that other people told me to say,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
"As we stand on the edge of our 250th year of independence, I am thrilled to declare that America is back," Trump said, reworking a familiar rallying cry.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
“You stand on a platform, slide your feet, and go skating down a frozen canal with Hans Brinker,” added Akimi.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
