1.
to rise from a chair
“Please stand up.”
“He stood up to greet me.”
“Everyone stood up when the teacher came in.”
Synonyms: to rise, to get up
Phrasal verb
What does stand up mean?
Meaning: to move from sitting to standing
B1
This page for:
Quick answer
Stand up = to move from sitting to standing (from a chair). It takes no object. Stand up, please = please get up from your chair. Another meaning: stand up for someone = to defend someone.
Meanings of the phrasal verb
2.
to stay true when people check it
figurative“His argument doesn't stand up.”
3.
to defend someone (with “for”)
idiomatic“Stand up for your friends.”
“She stood up for her rights.”
Word order
Intransitive (no object)
This phrasal verb does not take an object.
Forms
- Present Simple:
- stand up
- Past Simple:
- stood up
- Past participle:
- stood up
- -ing form:
- standing up
Common mistakes to avoid
Irregular verb: stood (not standed)
Stand is irregular: stand → stood → stood. Past Simple: He stood up. Never He standed up ❌.
Stand up is not always get up
They are close, but not the same. Stand up = to go from sitting to standing. Get up = to get out of bed (and also to stand up). In class: stand up. In the morning: I get up at 7 ✓, not I stand up at 7 ❌.
Stand up for or stand up to?
Stand up for = to defend someone. Stand up to = to refuse to accept bad behaviour from someone. Stand up for your friend (defend) / Stand up to a bully (face).
Practice quiz
Question 1 / 3The Big Challenge question bank
Related pages: stand up
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
What's next?
Stand up: you understand the rule. Now practise it.
Understanding a rule is only the first step. On PLAY, you use it in real situations, at your own pace, until it becomes automatic.
Practise “stand up” on PLAYFree · No sign-up · 3 minutes
For teachersStand up: a ready-to-use lesson sequence
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English contestStand up: often tested in the English contest
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Frequently asked questions
What does stand up mean?+
Stand up = to get up from a chair. It takes no object: Stand up, please. It can also mean that an idea is strong (His argument doesn't stand up = it is not convincing), and with for, to defend someone.
What is the difference between stand up and get up?+
Stand up = to go from sitting to standing (from a chair). Get up = to get out of bed, or to stand up in general. In class: stand up. In the morning: get up. Sometimes they mean the same thing, but not always.
What is the difference between stand up for and stand up to?+
Stand up for = to defend someone or something (a friend, an idea). Stand up to = to face someone who is unfair or stronger than you. Stand up for your friend / Stand up to a bully (someone who hurts weaker people). The small word after up changes the meaning.
What is the past simple of stand up?+
Stood up. Stand is irregular: stand → stood → stood. I stood up at the meeting.
What is stand-up comedy?+
Stand-up (with a hyphen) is a comedy show where one person tells jokes on stage. That person is a stand-up comedian. Here, stand-up is not a verb: it describes the show.
Related phrasal verbs
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/phrasal-verbs/stand-up
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.