How to Use stand-up in a Sentence

stand-up

1 of 2 adjective
  • The thing is, most of his fans don’t know him from stand-up.
    — Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Like, [‘@midnight’ host] Chris Hardwick was a stand-up.
    — Rachel Brodsky, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2024
  • The camp has given people a chance to live out their stand-up dreams.
    — Jaclyn Lee, ABC News, 30 Nov. 2023
  • His next stand-up special may be more of a sit-down special.
    — Brendan Morrow, The Week, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Anyone who owns a kayak, canoe or stand-up paddle board is free to bring it to the event and launch from the shore.
    — cleveland, 4 Aug. 2023
  • How does the cost of The Roast compare to other stand-up specials Netflix has done?
    — Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024
  • The bedroom is also a home office if needed, thanks to this stand-up desk that can flip up from the wall.
    — Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 26 July 2023
  • And there are fine waves for surfing right out front, or a short jaunt away, and places to stand-up paddleboard and snorkel.
    — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 10 June 2023
  • Attaching it evokes the feel of an old-school stand-up jet ski, though without many of the benefits.
    — Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 25 Feb. 2024
  • The congressman’s stand-up set lasted about 8½ minutes and drew laughs as well as groans.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2023
  • This approach is clear across Acaster’s books, podcasts and stand-up.
    — Desiree Ibekwe, New York Times, 25 May 2023
  • Normand has created a distinct, and dark, style of stand-up.
    — Charna Flam, Variety, 10 July 2023
  • Tucker kicked off his first major stand-up tour in over a decade in September.
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2023
  • Saget may have been popular, but he was known for television and stand-up.
    — Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
  • For so many people, stand-up is literally the recipe for a nightmare.
    — Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024
  • This is the no-nonsense fairy godmother behind the careers of your favorite stand-up comics.
    — Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024
  • On Target Step up his grilling game with this portable stand-up propane grill from Coleman.
    — Jenna Clark, Southern Living, 4 Dec. 2023
  • An upright, or stand-up, walker can be safe for seniors, with some caution.
    — Sarah Bradley, Verywell Health, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Go to smaller ports and when weather-appropriate, play in the water on kayaks and stand-up paddle boards right from the boat.
    — Eileen Ogintz, Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Mulaney’s capsule stand-up set was an instant hit and landed him at the top of our list as the candidate to host an award show next year.
    — Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024
  • In the four-and-a-half years since, Gillis has come out with a pair of stand-up specials, with last year’s Beautiful Dogs being released on Netflix.
    — William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2024
  • Thanks for adding the category of best stand-up on television.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 29 Sep. 2023
  • As for the future of stand-up comedy in China, some have not entirely lost hope.
    — Nectar Gan, CNN, 26 May 2023
  • That taste of stand-up prompted Iglesias to quit his well-paying cellphone salesman job.
    — Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
  • The first film served as a moody origin story for the Joker, a struggling stand-up comedian and part-time clown named Arthur Fleck.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
  • The mute comic, who uses the text-to-speech function on his phone to deliver his stand-up routine, earned kudos from Klum.
    — USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Gaffigan, meanwhile, has his tenth stand-up special coming out this year.
    — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 9 June 2023
  • Gervais, who chose not to show up tonight, has drawn backlash in the past for transphobic jokes in his stand-up routines.
    — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The show carried a charge only live TV can offer, ready to embrace the unknown with a great stand-up leading the charge.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 12 Jan. 2026
  • She's had four television stand-up specials.
    — Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Jan. 2026

stand up

2 of 2 verb
  • The juicy dark meat stands up to the creaminess of the sauce.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Jan. 2025
  • The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my face felt flush.
    — Alex Montoya, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2023
  • The hair on the back of your head ought to be standing up.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Two of the girls stand up from their seats and attempt to leave through the door at the front of the bus.
    — Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Watts has three more weeks to stand up — and stand out.
    — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 12 Aug. 2021
  • And the people that did, didn’t stand up for me the way that an adult should.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 11 July 2024
  • Throwing 100 mph will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
    — Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 28 Apr. 2022
  • Campbell stood up and waved as cheers boomed across the venue.
    — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Each had a chance to stand up for what is honest and right.
    — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2023
  • There is room to stand up, and the center ceiling is flat and slopes to the wall.
    — Mark Philben, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Jan. 2023
  • But 18 gets the hair on your arms and the back of your neck to stand up a bit more often.
    — Steve Dimeglio, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2022
  • Props to you, girl, for having the guts to stand up to Demi.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2021
  • That let Maxime Talbot’s two goals stand up for the win.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 4 June 2025
  • The Democrats used to stand up for the working man, blue-collar guy.
    — Fox News Staff, Fox News, 26 Oct. 2021
  • The Eagles’ standout tried to stand up, but couldn’t bear the weight on her leg.
    — Ivan Orozco, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Jan. 2024
  • Shea notes that on the last day of her life, no one stood up for Chappell.
    — Abigail Pesta, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Thank you to the great state of Texas for standing up for women and girls!
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 20 May 2025
  • He’s the prime minister who failed to stand up to Hitler.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 13 Jan. 2022
  • The small hairs on the back of the neck stand up as the distinctive wail of the bagpipes begins.
    — Freep.com, 10 June 2022
  • People showed me love but there was no one to stand up for me.
    — Brande Victorian, Essence, 6 Oct. 2021
  • Your job is to have a government stand up as the troops land.
    — Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2022
  • The ‘world’s first robot lawyer’ doesn’t stand up to a fair trial.
    — Jon Porter, The Verge, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Now, however, there seems to be a race to see who can stand up the fastest.
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022
  • The guys now scarf their slices standing up while their headlamps beam in the dark.
    — Britta Lokting, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2024
  • As the song goes on, more and more people stand up and begin singing.
    — Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Passengers in front and behind us whispered, a few stood up, and some clung to the bars and handles.
    — Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
  • Lemon stood up as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
    — John Ross, Vanity Fair, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The way they’re eaten — standing up, straight from a serving bowl — is as American as football itself.
    — Carolynn Carreño, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Students at the protest were standing up for their classmates.
    — Anna McAllister, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Slowly stand up while keeping the weight held overhead.
    — Rikkilynn Shields Hannigan, Health, 31 Jan. 2026

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

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