stand back

phrasal verb

stood back; standing back; stands back

: to take a few steps backwards

The paramedics told the crowd to stand back.

: to stop doing something or being actively involved in something for a time in order to think about it and make decisions in a calm and reasonable way

It's time to stand back and take a long hard look at your problems.

Examples of stand back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Then Bon Jovi and a woman with the film crew slowly approach her as the rest of the crew stands back. —

Elias Lopez, CBS News, 11 Sep. 2024 This character is almost losing solid ground and trying to stand back up again. —

Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2024 The only thing to do was to stand back and watch his friend go. —

Rosa Lyster, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2024 Perform 10 air squats: Stand in place, then squat down and stand back up 10 times. —

Aubrey Bailey, Pt, Dpt, Cht, Verywell Health, 3 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for stand back

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stand back.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.