STAND BY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does stand by mean? 

• STAND BY (verb)
  The verb STAND BY has 3 senses:

1. not act or do anything

2. be available or ready for a certain function or service

3. be loyal to

  Familiarity information: STAND BY used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STAND BY (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not act or do anything

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

He just stood by when the police beat up the demonstrators

Hypernyms (to "stand by" is one way to...):

forbear; refrain (resist doing something)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be available or ready for a certain function or service

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

stand by; stick about; stick around

Hypernyms (to "stand by" is one way to...):

wait (stay in one place and anticipate or expect something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

They stand by a long time

Derivation:

standby (something that can be relied on when needed)

standby (an actor able to replace a regular performer when required)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be loyal to

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

adhere; stand by; stick; stick by

Context example:

The friends stuck together through the war

Hypernyms (to "stand by" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

I knew you'd stand by me, sir.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

But, if I were you, I would stand by the nephew.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“Well, well!” said my aunt, “the child is right to stand by those who have stood by him—Janet! Donkeys!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Now,” cried the captain, “easy with that gun, sir, or you'll swamp the boat. All hands stand by to trim her when he aims.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He asked me if I would stand by the bargain.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mr. Van Weyden, stand by to pass the head-sails over.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

There I, humble as I am, can give you the aid you want: I can set you your task from hour to hour; stand by you always; help you from moment to moment.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It is very right that you should stand by your brother.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Will you try another flight, or do you stand by your last?

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was one thing to knock the soldiers over with their muskets in their hands, and it was another to stand by while men were being killed in cold blood.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)