to stand up
- phrasal verb
- /stænd ʌp/
- Like if I put, if I stand this up, oh, I can even balance it.
How do you get that to stand up and stay there?
- How do you get that to stand up and stay there?
Examples
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Do I flatten it or find a way to make the model stand up on the uneven surface?
Blog text (25) -
How do you get that to stand up and stay there?
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And if you stood it up just like this, you could stand it up on a stake off the ground.
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I stuffed the onesie so it would stand up on its own.
Blog text (20) -
Camping lamplights are convenient as they can stand up by themselves and shed a large circle of light.
Blog text (3) -
Trevor stands up and looks around the mazelike structure of cubicles as far as he can see.
Fiction book (2002) -
He carefully adjusted the leaning tower to stand up straight against the wall.
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To make it easier to paint, she decided to stand up the canvas on an easel.
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He wanted the trophy to stand up proudly on the mantlepiece for everyone to see.
Synonyms
To be or put something in an upright position
To make something stand up again after it falls
To put something so it stands up instead of lying down
Antonyms
How Upright
Surface Forms
Morphology
There is a clear link between 'stand' (to endure or resist) and the MWE meaning, while the particle 'up' functions as an intensifier that yields a confrontational sense; however the precise sense 'confront/refuse to back down' is not entirely predictable from the parts for an unexposed B1 learner. This pattern is partially compositional but relies on phrasal-verb semantics that vary cross-linguistically, so prior exposure usually helps.
Etymology
Stand up for something or someone can come from the idea of making an object stand on its end; you set it so it will stand and point up. That's why it also means 'to put something in an upright position'.