stand up

verb

Etymology: From Middle English standen up, from Old English standan up; equivalent to stand + up. Compare Old Norse standa upp.

1. To rise from a lying or sitting position.

   “Stand up, then sit down again.”

   “He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from the ball-room for a fourth dance.[…]But she said she must go back, and when they joined the crowd again[…]she found her mother standing up before the seat on which she had sat all the evening searching anxiously for her with her eyes, and her father by her side.”

2. To bring something up and set it into a standing position; to set something up.

   “Laura stood the sofa up on end.”

3. (stand someone up) To avoid a prearranged meeting, especially a date, with (a person) without prior notification; to jilt or shirk.

   “John stood Laura up at the movie theater.”

   “— What?! Why did you come HERE then? You should be at a hospital! — A gentleman never stands a lady up.”

4. To last or endure over a period of time.

   “Both Venus 5 and Venus 6 had apparently stood up well under the rigors of their 217-million-mile trips.”

5. To continue to be believable, consistent, or plausible.

   “Ehrlichman's story did not stand up under Neal's grilling.”

   “This kind of evidence wouldn't stand up in court.”

6. To stand immediately behind the wicket so as to catch balls from a slow or spin bowler, and to attempt to stump the batsman.
7. To launch, propel upwards

   “It was a dreadful goal to concede as Ariel Ibagaza was able to take a short corner and then receive the return ball in space on the left. He stood up a floated cross into the middle where Fuster arrived unmarked to steer a header into the corner.”

8. To formally activate and commission (a unit, formation, etc.).
9. To make one's voice heard, to speak up.

   “But my biblical and theological commitments tell me we need to stand up and be counted for the issues of neighbor care and creation care. We need to speak up.”

   “We're a lion sitting under the tree, watching the hyenas as they stalk our territory. They're coming right up to us. They scratch. They push. They're eating our food! At a certain point, we need to remember that we're a f***ing lion. We need to stand up, and we need to f**ing roar!”

10. To serve in a role during a wedding ceremony.

    “Will you stand up for me (as my best man) at the wedding?”

    “The bridesmaids will stand up over there during the ceremony.”