withstand
/wɪðˈstænd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.65 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To oppose (something) forcefully.
Example Sentences
- "Tests showed that a tin ceiling could withstand a temperature of 1,369° for an hour and 10 minutes, whereas plaster collapsed in 12 minutes."
- "Some old, underfired clay pantiles might be damaged by button mosses rooting in cracks and fissures. But most post-war tiles are hard enough to withstand a bit of moss growth."
Etymology
From Middle English withstanden, from Old English wiþstandan, from Proto-West Germanic *wiþistandan (“to withstand, resist”), equivalent to with- (“against”) + stand. Cognate with Old Frisian withstanda (“to resist”). Compare also Dutch weerstaan (“to withstand, repel”), German widerstehen (“to withstand, resist, defy”), Russian противостоять (protivostojatʹ, “to withstand”).