# stand pat

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/stand-pat
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To resist changes.

## Examples

- The committee decided to stand pat on their original decision.
- I will stand pat on my price because the car is worth it.
- Despite the pressure from investors to change the strategy, the CEO chose to stand pat until the next quarter.
- Even though the neighbors complained about the fence color, the homeowner decided to stand pat and keep it bright yellow.
- After the coach saw the team winning, he chose to stand pat with the current players instead of making any substitutions.
- Faced with an uncertain market and shifting public opinion, the board of directors resolved to stand pat, refusing to alter their long-term investment policy.

## Origin

Probably originally a poker phrase, with "pat" equaling "optimal", meaning that drawing more cards is unnecessary. Later the phrase came to be employed in other spheres. "Stand pat" was actively used in U.S. political campaigns of the 1900s, quickly gaining a sense of "being reactionary, resistant to dramatic changes in policy". Moreover, a noun, standpatter, was coined to denote such politicians. (disputed)

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