stand you up

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitiveinformal

   To fail to meet someone for a planned date or appointment, leaving them waiting.

   Grammar: Takes a person as object, which goes between 'stand' and 'up': 'He stood me up.'

   Patterns

   • stand somebody up
   • get stood up
   • stand someone up for a date

   He stood me up on Friday, so I ate dinner alone.

   I waited an hour at the café before I realized she had stood me up.

   Nobody likes getting stood up, especially on a first date.

2. 2verbtransitive

   To support someone in an argument or difficult situation.

   Grammar: Takes a person as object between the verb and 'up': 'They stood him up when he needed help.'

   Patterns

   • stand somebody up
   • stand up for somebody

   His colleagues stood him up when the manager blamed him unfairly.

   She stood me up in front of the whole team, and I never forgot it.

Common combinations

stand somebody up for a date

He stood her up for a date and never called.

get stood up

I got stood up last night and went home early.

stand somebody up at the last minute

She stood him up at the last minute.

stand up for somebody

You should stand up for your friends when they are criticized.

Synonyms and how they differ

leave somebody waiting

Neutral and literal; it describes the situation without the informal, slightly hurt tone of 'stand up'.

not show up

Focuses on the absence itself and does not need a person as object.

Opposites

Word family

stand-up adjective

reliable and honest, as in 'a stand-up guy'

stand-up noun

a comedy performance by one person alone on stage

Commonly confused: stand you up or stand up?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “stand you up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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