to stand in someone's way - Glite Dictionary

Examples

Then don't let anything stand in your way.

Pearl (2022)
I'd be the last person in the world to stand in the way of your happiness.

The Front Page (1974)
I was wrong to stand in your way.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
And nothing will stand in their way.

Smurfs (2025)
No one's gonna stand in your way.

Shallow Grave (1994)
They stand in the way of action.

The Great Dictator (1940)
I don't want to stand in their way because of my own weakness.

Glory (1989)
"I wouldn't stand in Paul's way if he really wanted something," I said.

Fiction book (1995)
Now, the only thing that stood in their way was Zen Yi, Gold Lion's favorite son.

The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)
I wouldn't want to stand in your way as you pursue your dreams.

Synonyms

to block

vsto stand in someone's way

∞ 3.0

To stop movement, access, or progress

focuses on preventing someone's aims specifically not any blocked function

to cross

vsto stand in someone's way

208 5.9

To stop someone's plans or make them fail

focuses on preventing progress toward aims not merely causing frustration

to get in the way

vsto stand in someone's way

206 3.3

To stop or slow something from happening

is specific to stopping someone's aims or personal progress

to obstruct

vsto stand in someone's way

119 5.1

To block a path or view

is about preventing personal aims as well as progress not just physical blocking

to thwart

vsto stand in someone's way

87 7.4

To stop someone from doing what they want

can mean making progress difficult rather than fully stopping it

to hinder

vsto stand in someone's way

75 3.6

To make it difficult for people or things to do something

can mean full prevention rather than only making progress difficult

to impede

vsto stand in someone's way

35 6.5

To slow the progress or movement of people and things

is about stopping or blocking aims not only about causing delay

to stymy

vsto stand in someone's way

20 8.7

To stop someone from making progress toward a goal

emphasizes overall aims and progress rather than only the final outcome

to stymie

vsto stand in someone's way

5 8.0

To stop or slow progress

may instead refer to making progress harder rather than fully stopping it

to blockade

vsto stand in someone's way

1 6.1

To stop someone or something from making progress

is about blocking a person's aims or forward movement rather than general tasks

to obstruct someone's plans

vsto stand in someone's way

5.6

To stop someone on purpose from doing what they planned

can be any hindrance and is not always a deliberate act

Antonyms

to facilitate

Formal

187 4.9

To make a task or process easier and help it happen

assist

33 1.8

Help given to someone to make a task easier

How Obstructive

to prevent

∞ 2.3

to stand in someone's way

1 3.4

to block

∞ 3.0

to hinder

75 3.6

to delay

562 1.4

Surface Forms

stand in someone's way infinitive

standing in someone's way present participle

stands in someone's way third person singular

stood in someone's way past

stood in someone's way past participle

Morphology

stand + in + someone's + way

The meaning 'to prevent or hinder someone' is directly and transparently derived from the literal image of 'standing in someone's way' (stand + in + someone's + way) — physically blocking a route maps straightforwardly onto obstructing progress or aims. This spatial-to-abstract extension is common cross-linguistically and follows a normal compositional pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the idiomatic sense.

Etymology

The idiom stand in someone's way comes from the simple image of a person who stands in another person's way, standing in front of them and stopping their path. So, it now means 'to stop or block someone from reaching a goal'.