Dictionary

stand for en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To mean; to symbolize; to represent; especially of an acronym or abbreviation.
   • The abbreviation CIA stands for "Central Intelligence Agency".
   • whether these names do not some of them sometimes stand for the same thing 1693, [John Locke], “§134”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:
   • Some teachers festoon every spare inch of wall with vocabulary choices or maths techniques to use, which look great at first, but to some children might appear quite daunting. You'll probably see unfamiliar acronyms such as Walt (We Are Learning To). Be sure to ask what they stand for and how they are used in practice. 2014 September 23, A teacher, “Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents”, in The Guardian:
2. To advocate; to support.
   • Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh-oh (Oh-ooh-woah) what do I stand for? (Oh-ooh-woah) what do I stand for? Most nights, I don't know anymore 2012, Jeff Bhasker, Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff, “Some Nights”, in Some Nights), performed by fun.:
   • Bernard, you should stand for Parliament. 1986 February 13, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “A Victory for Democracy”, in Yes, Prime Minister, season 1, episode 6, spoken by Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne):
3. To tolerate.
   • We won't stand for that type of behaviour.

Forms

Translations (29)

oc representar (to mean, symbolize or represent) · ru означа́ть (to mean, symbolize or represent) · fi sietää (to tolerate) · fi kannattaa (to advocate or support) · oc simbolizar (to mean, symbolize or represent) · sv stå för (to mean, symbolize or represent) · oc sosténer (to advocate or support) · ar سَانَدَ (to advocate or support) · ar إِسْتَنَدَ (to mean, symbolize or represent) · oc significar (to mean, symbolize or represent) · es la sigla significa (to mean, symbolize or represent) · nl staan voor (to mean, symbolize or represent) · pt querer dizer (to mean, symbolize or represent) · pt significar (to mean, symbolize or represent) · de unterstützen (to advocate or support) · es representar (to mean, symbolize or represent) · it sostenere (to advocate or support) · nl voorstaan (to advocate or support) · fi tarkoittaa (to mean, symbolize or represent) · de eintreten (to advocate or support) · sv stå för (to advocate or support) · ru терпеть (to tolerate) · it significare (to mean, symbolize or represent) · es significar (to mean, symbolize or represent) · sv förespråka (to advocate or support) · it rappresentare (to mean, symbolize or represent) · sv stödja (to advocate or support) · ru выступать за (to advocate or support) · oc defendre (to advocate or support)