STAND FOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stand for mean? 

• STAND FOR (verb)
  The verb STAND FOR has 4 senses:

1. express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol

2. denote or connote

3. take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to

4. tolerate or bear

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• STAND FOR (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

represent; stand for; symbolise; symbolize; typify

Context example:

What does the Statue of Liberty symbolize?

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

intend; mean (mean or intend to express or convey)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stand for"):

be; embody; personify (represent, as of a character on stage)

epitomise; epitomize; typify (embody the essential characteristics of or be a typical example of)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Denote or connote

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

intend; mean; signify; stand for

Context example:

An example sentence would show what this word means

Verb group:

signify (convey or express a meaning)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stand for"):

denote; refer (have as a meaning)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

correspond; represent; stand for

Context example:

Because of the sound changes in the course of history, an 'h' in Greek stands for an 's' in Latin

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

be; equal (be identical or equivalent to)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Tolerate or bear

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

hold still for; stand for

Context example:

I won't stand for this kind of behavior!

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

abide; bear; brook; digest; endure; put up; stand; stick out; stomach; suffer; support; tolerate (put up with something or somebody unpleasant)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

“I wouldn’t stand for that,” he replied.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The slaves won't stand for it.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"He thought you were going to injure me, and he wouldn't stand for it. It's all right. It's all right. He'll learn soon enough."

(White Fang, by Jack London)

In general, a namespace is an abstract container, which is or could be filled by names, or technical terms, or words, and these represent or stand for real-world things.

(Namespace, NCI Thesaurus)

There are times, young fellah, when every one of us must make a stand for human right and justice, or you never feel clean again.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

These crosses stand for the names of ships or towns that they sank or plundered.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

As she spoke, Lucy turned crimson, though it was only momentarily, for her poor wasted veins could not stand for long such an unwonted drain to the head.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed.

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

I don’t stand for that, mister, but there’s a stool pigeon or a cross somewhere, and it’s up to you to find out where it is.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It occurred to me that if these appeals came, as I expected, from someone who had been intimate with the lady in her early life, a combination which contained two E’s with three letters between might very well stand for the name ‘ELSIE.’ On examination I found that such a combination formed the termination of the message which was three times repeated.

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