Withstand

How to spell withstand

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce withstand

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does withstand mean?

1. verbTo resist or endure successfully without giving way, breaking, or being harmed.

Withstand in a sentence

• The new tent is built to withstand heavy rain and strong wind.

• These tiles can withstand very high temperatures in the oven.

Where does withstand come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes straight from Old English, where wiþstandan combined wiþ, meaning 'against', with standan, meaning 'to stand'. The literal idea was therefore 'to stand against' something, and that physical image of holding your ground still drives the modern meaning of resisting force or hardship. The same old 'against' sense of with survives in a small family of verbs such as withdraw and withhold, even though everyday with now usually means 'together with'. The word is firmly Germanic and has changed very little in well over a thousand years, which is why its spelling is reassuringly regular: it is simply with followed by stand.

How the word is built

• with- (against)
• stand (to remain firm, from Old English standan)