stand up for

Idioms  

1. Also, stick up for. Side with, defend, as in Paul always stands up for what he thinks is right, or Ginny has learned to stick up for her family. The first recorded use of the first term is by Shakespeare in King Lear (1:2), when Edmund, Gloucester's bastard son, says: “Now gods, stand up for bastards!” The colloquial variant was first recorded in 1837.

---

Example Sentences

But ter Heide stressed that “you don’t need to, as a patient, swear at the perpetrator, or tell him he’s horrible,” but it helps to “acknowledge the truth … hold somebody accountable and stand up for yourself.”

From Slate

These claims were echoed by agency worker Luke Graham, who said he was taking action to "stand up for what is right".

From BBC

"In the triggers of the protests, there is first the will of young people to stand up for the essential needs of their communities, their refusal to be dispossessed of the basics for survival: health, security, political representation," said Van de Velde.

From Barron's

“Get up, stand up / Stand up for your right / Get up, stand up / Don’t give up the fight,” Olvera belted out after delivering an impassioned speech about the Latino community to the packed stadium.

From Los Angeles Times

When asked about the meeting by MS NOW, Mamdani said he plans to “just speak plainly to the president about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers, and the way in which New Yorkers are struggling to afford this city.”

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• advocate
• condone
• confirm
• countenance
• defend
• explain
• favor
• maintain
• rationalize
• support
• sustain
• uphold
• validate
• vindicate
• warrant