to take the stand
73
6.0
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ðə stænd/
- US
:
testificar
- And if there is a trial, I want to take the stand and tell the jury that I'm innocent.
- expert takes the stand
One one's in jail, one took the stand and was obviously pretty scummy.
- One one's in jail, one took the stand and was obviously pretty scummy.
- They had the NCAS agent take the stand again and just regurgitate and everything.
- The ex president and current felon also gave this bonkers reason for not taking the stand.
- I says, well, they might not tell the jury how much time I'm looking at, but that doesn't stop me from telling them, OK, so it's my time to take the stand, right?
Examples
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You may take the stand, Dr. Allwin.
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Officer Rice, please have the witness take the stand.
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And nobody is gonna take the stand against me.
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Is Bill talking to you about taking the stand?
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When do I take the stand?
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Will you take the stand in your defense?
-
The next day, against the advice of counsel, I took the stand.
Fiction book (1993) -
Then you'll have to take the stand and tell your story.
-
The hearing was also notable because Zimmerman took the stand and apologized to Martin's parents.
Blog text (25) -
On the fourth day of the trial, my grandfather took the stand in his own defense.
Synonyms
945
5.6
To say officially in court what you saw or know
57
6.6
To officially confirm that something is true, often in court
29
4.6
Show that something is true, often by signs or by people saying they saw it
26
8.0
To give a formal statement while promising to tell the truth
Antonyms
How Willing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is partially derivable: 'take' (assume) + 'the stand' (a place to stand) can lead to the idea of going onto the witness stand to testify if a learner knows 'stand' as a legal noun. However, many B1 learners will not know the courtroom sense of 'stand' or the conventionalized legal usage, so the relation is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Take the stand comes from the simple image of a person walking up onto the raised platform in a court called the witness stand. So to take the stand means 'to give testimony', or to stand there and answer questions as a witness.