# stand up

CEFR A1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/stand-up
Updated: 2026-10-23

## Definition

to move your body from a sitting or lying position to a vertical position on your feet.

For teachers: to rise to a vertical position from a seated, kneeling, or prone posture. Intransitive in its primary physical sense, though it can take an object in its informal sense of failing to meet someone.

## Examples

- Please stand up when the judge enters the room.
- The students all stood up to greet their new teacher as she walked into the classroom.
- The elderly statesman struggled to stand up unaided, yet he insisted on rising to address the assembly with his characteristic dignity.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He stood up himself." but "He stood up." — the verb is intransitive and does not take a reflexive pronoun when describing the physical act of rising.

## Usage notes

- often used as a command or combined with 'and' to start another action.
- Teaching tip: contrast with 'get up', which is more general and can mean leaving one's bed in the morning; 'stand up' specifically describes the physical change in posture.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.