Stand definition, (of a person) to be in an upright position on the feet. See more. 1: held near at hand and ready for use a standby power plant standby equipment 2: relating to the act or condition of standing by standby duty a standby period Look up standby, stand-by, or stand by in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Standby may refer to: Standby (air travel), a list in which passengers may request to be. stand by to wait and remain ready. (Generally heard in communication, such as broadcasting, telephones, etc.) Your transatlantic telephone call is almost ready. Standby definition, a staunch supporter or adherent; one who can be relied upon. See more. The one-word standby works as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. It’s correct in the phrase on standby, meaning ready and waiting. By contention, the one-word form. Seen and Heard. What made you want to look up stand by? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). stand·by (stănd′bī′) n. pl. stand·bys. 1. One that can always be relied on, as in an emergency. 2. One kept in readiness to serve as a substitute. She took her stand by the huge black hull of Ulysses' ship which was middlemost of all, so that her voice might carry farthest on either side, on the one hand towards. Define stand by and get synonyms. What is stand by? stand by meaning, pronunciation and more by Macmillan Dictionary.