stood

American  

[stood] / stʊd /

verb

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

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stood British  

/ stʊd /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of stand

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stood Idioms  

1. see should have stood in bed.

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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

“It doesn’t matter what party governs,” a neighbor told her as they stood around on the sidewalk, escaping the darkness of their homes as the blackout stretched on.

From Los Angeles Times

Uniformed guards stood at regular points along the boundary.

From Barron's

The company calculated what it stood to gain through direct selling.

From The Wall Street Journal

Each M&M stood for $1bn of the company's worth, he said, in a bid to illustrate the depth of the company's wealth.

From BBC

A number of Reform candidates have stood down or have been suspended recently.

From BBC

Related Words

• erect
• locate
• place
• put
• rank
• rise
• set
• settle