stand over
Britishverb
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(intr, preposition) to watch closely; keep tight control over
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(adverb) to postpone or be postponed
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informal (intr, preposition) to threaten or intimidate (a person)
noun
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Watch or supervise closely, as in I hate to cook when you're standing over me . [First half of 1300s]
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Postpone, as in We'll have to let this budget item stand over till next year . [Early 1800s]
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’d stand over twenty feet on a lowboy semitrailer. Too tall to fit under overpasses. She was only on the show for a couple of years when she was a baby. Now she’s a full-time resident here.”
From Literature
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Love said he had decided to use the clause as in his role as a teacher he feels the "need to be able to stand over everything" he tells his pupils.
From BBC
Casey Higgins sparred on the witness stand over what information the consulting firm provided to the councilman’s office about possible conflicts.
From Los Angeles Times
Aside from service on Brevard County’s school board, Jenkins has managed a PAC called Educated We Stand over the past year.
From Salon
“You could be having dinner or breakfast, whatever, and people will come over and stand over you and talk to you,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
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.