to stand up for
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Support, take his (or its) part. To stand up for one's privilege or on punctilios. Quietly to insist on one's position, etc., being recognized; this is the Latin insisto.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to stand up for” mean?
Support, take his (or its) part. To stand up for one's privilege or on punctilios. Quietly to insist on one's position, etc., being recognized; this is the Latin insisto.
Is “to stand up for” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.