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Synonyms

stood

American  
[stood] / stʊd /

verb

  1. the simple past tense and past participle of stand.

stood British  
/ stʊd /

verb

  1. the past tense and past participle of stand

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
stood Idioms  

  1. see should have stood in bed.

Usage

What is a basic definition of stood? Stood is the past tense and past participle of the verb stand. Stood can mean to be positioned upright (in the past), to not move or budge (in the past), or to believe in something (in the past). Stood, like stand, has many other senses as a verb. As the past tense of stand, stood is used in many of the same idioms. If someone stood somewhere, it means they were in an upright position at that location and not sitting or lying down. If an object stood somewhere, it was located there and hadn’t yet collapsed, fell down, or been moved somewhere else.

  • Real-life examples: The Colossus of Rhodes stood at a Greek harbor before collapsing during an earthquake. Archaeologists may find evidence of a building that once stood somewhere in the past but has since been destroyed.
  • Used in a sentence: I stood by the door and waited for the mailman. 
Stood can also mean that someone or an animal rose from a sitting, lying, or squatting position. This sense is often followed by up.
  • Used in a sentence: Larry slowly stood up out of his chair to greet his son.  
In a similar sense, stood can be used to mean that something was a certain height if positioned fully upright.
  • Used in a sentence: I swear that the King Kong statue stood over 100 feet tall! 
Stood can also mean to have not moved or given any ground.
  • Used in a sentence: I stood firm against the volley of snowballs. 
Stood can also mean to believe in something. This sense is often followed by the word for.
  • Used in a sentence: I try to live up to my mother’s legacy and follow the values she stood for. 

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.

According to data highlighted by trading surveillance accounts like The Kobeissi Letter, whoever placed those bets stood to make an estimated $125 million as oil prices collapsed more than 12%.

From Salon • May 9, 2026

The firm behind such iconic marketing campaigns as American Express’s “Don’t Leave Home Without It” and Dove’s “Real Beauty” stood unchallenged for more than a decade as the world’s largest ad company by net revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

The final call on the field was a touchdown, which stood after a lengthy review.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

The odds of no rate cut stood at 74%.

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

Mama went at once to the young mother, but I stood frozen on the threshold.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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.