to stand up and be counted
3
6.3
- idiom
:
dar la cara
- I really hope that the Iranian people can stand up and be counted.
- stand up and be counted and say
- stand up and be counted on this issue
You know, he had to stand up and be counted.
- You know, he had to stand up and be counted.
Examples
-
Gentlemen, it is the time to stand up and be counted.
-
It's time to stand up and be counted for what you do believe in: the power of evidence and reasoned argument.
Blog text (4) -
Now, it's my turn to stand up and be counted.
-
"You have to stand up and be counted, and support other services too.
Academic text (2011) -
It's time for us to stand up and be counted, and this election, ladies and gentlemen, is the time for your voices to be heard.
Academic text (2000) -
We deserve to stand up and be counted at least as much as all the other races do.
Blog text (32) -
We need to be willing to stand up and be counted, know what we stand for, know what we want this company to mean to people.
-
It is a time to stand up and be counted.
-
Thursday is National Coming Out Day, a day for LGBT people to stand up and be counted.
Blog text (25) -
It is important for everyone to stand up and be counted during times of injustice.
Synonyms
256
2.7
Defend or support someone who is treated unfairly
220
3.4
To say your opinion or feelings openly even when it is difficult
215
2.8
To publicly support an idea or cause
84
2.9
Support a person, group, or cause during hard times
59
4.3
To support someone when others criticize or attack them
33
3.4
To join others to support the same cause
23
4.6
Publicly say you strongly agree or disagree with something
5
3.8
To come together and support the same cause
1
4.4
To state an opinion strongly and refuse to change it when others disagree
1
3.7
Speak or act to support fairness when it is threatened
1
3.9
Support and defend other people who share a cause
1
6.6
To publicly say you are loyal to a person, group, or cause
1
7.1
Help or act for others when they need support
Begin to strongly defend a person or cause in public
Antonyms
How Public
344
3.9
3
6.3
- Informal
135
3.1
183
4.2
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines literal senses: 'stand up' (take a visible/defensive position) and 'be counted' (be included in a tally), so a learner who knows the component words can infer the basic idea of making oneself visible to be included or recognized. However, the intended idiomatic nuance — publicly declaring support or courageously taking a stand — requires pragmatic inference beyond strict compositional meaning, so it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
The idiom stand up and be counted comes from meetings where people would stand up so everyone could be counted in a vote or roll call, and standing showed public support. So, it now means 'to publicly show your support', even when doing so is risky.