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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.

China’s headline urban unemployment rate stood at 5.4% last month, edging up from February’s 5.3%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Following Leo's address, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, said that she stood with the Pope in his "courageous call for a kingdom of peace".

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

The railroads also tapped into the wealth of retail investors, targeting merchants and farmers along the routes who stood to prosper.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

The RSI stood at 69.3 as of Wednesday’s close.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

I stood on the landing outside the dining room and ran my hand over the smooth wood of the Frisian clock.

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.