Synonyms

stand up for

Idioms

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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stand up for

“I think the judges are trying to stand up for the legitimacy of their branch.”

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

"Every person should be able to live without fear, to love and to stand up for their rights," she said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

“You have an adult population now who says: ‘I am going to stand up for myself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The group said its legal team would consider an appeal, adding that it would continue to "stand up for the communities who will be forced to live with the consequences of this expansion".

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

“A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

stand up for

Example Sentences

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