Learn English with English, baby!

Join for FREE!

Social_nav_masthead_logged_in

What does "stand up for yourself" mean?

Vocabulary Word: stand up for yourself

1. Definition (expr.) defend yourself, be strong when facing a conflict, fight for yourself, defend your opinion or point of view, protect yourself from danger, support yourself in a difficult situation

Examples “Danny is such a wimp, he never stands up for himself. He lets people treat him so badly!”

Examples “It doesn’t matter how mean Jeff is being to you, you need to stand up for yourself and tell him that he’s not going to hurt you anymore. You need to take control of your life and make yourself happy. He’s never going to change.”

Examples “I have a lot of respect for Andrew. A lot of people are mean to him, but he always stands up for himself and tells them to leave him alone. He’s a really strong kid.”

Examples “I was so angry because my co-workers were always so mean to me. Finally I had to stand up for myself and tell them that I would quit if they continued to be so mean.”

Examples “It doesn’t matter how mean Jeff is being to you, you need to stand up for yourself and tell him that he’s not going to hurt you anymore. You need to take control of your life and make yourself happy. He’s never going to change.”

Examples “I don’t know why the teacher always picks on you. Maybe she just thinks you could be doing better. I think you need to stand up for yourself and tell her that you’re doing your best and that she should stop being mean to you.”

Examples “I know I’m a good person, but for some reason I always let people treat me badly. I need to learn to stand up for myself so people stop taking advantage of me.”

Examples “I don’t know why the teacher always picks on you. Maybe she just thinks you could be doing better. I think you need to stand up for yourself and tell her that you’re doing your best and that she should stop being mean to you.”

2. Definition (expr.) to support your own rights and feelings in the face of opposition

Examples My father always told me to believe in myself and to stand up for myself when life became difficult.

Members who passed this quiz

Lessons with this vocab

The iTEP® test

  • Schedule an iTEP® test and take the official English Practice Test.

    Take Now >

Likes (0):

See all >