stand one's ground

stand (one's) ground

1. To brace oneself and maintain one's position during or when anticipating an attack. The other team's offense was incredibly aggressive, but our defense stood their ground. Despite the guy's size, I managed to stand my ground during the fight.
2. To refuse to yield, compromise, or be belittled; to stand up against an attack or insult. The boss scoffed at her idea initially, but she stood her ground and explained it in greater detail. He kept offering me less money, but I stood my ground and got the full asking price.
See also: ground, stand
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

stand one's ground

Also, hold one's ground; stand fast. Be firm or unyielding, as in You've got to respect him for standing his ground when all the others disagree, or I'm going to hold my ground on this issue, or No matter how he votes, I'm standing fast. This idiom, dating from the early 1600s, originally was applied to an army holding its territory against the enemy, but was being used figuratively as well by the end of the 1600s.
See also: ground, stand
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

stand one's ground, to

To hold to one’s position; to refuse to give in. This expression comes from the military, where from about 1700 it was used in the sense of holding one’s position. Figuratively it was used from the early nineteenth century on. J. S. Mill had it in On Liberty (1859): “It is not easy to see how it [individuality] can stand its ground.”
See also: stand
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • keep (someone or something) in sight
  • keep in sight
  • keep sight of
  • keep sight of (someone or something)
  • keep sight of somebody/something
  • comfortable in (one's) own skin
  • watch (one's) six
  • check (one's) six
  • check your six
  • wash one's hands of
References in periodicals archive
After 3 repeated presentations the 'Gref Plan' was finally approved by Putin, fully realising that implementing it would take some resolve and ability to stand one's ground even in adverse moments!
Reforms Russian style!
Drawing up the courage to stand one's ground did not always have to take place at a voter registration office or a segregated lunch counter.
This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible
When faced with a perceived threat of death or serious bodily harm, even if it later proves to be unfounded, a person has the right to use lethal force - to stand one's ground and not retreat.
LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG
Unfortunately, someone's rights must yield to another's in the situation where the need to stand one's ground may arise.
Dare defend: standing for stand your ground
All this and other factors still motivate continuing to stand one's ground in the theaters of the "Arab Spring."
"The Arab Spring": When Will We Say It Has Failed?
Enoch begins by arguing in favor of a moral principle, called Impartiality: "when an interpersonal conflict (of the relevant kind) is a matter merely of preferences, then an impartial, egalitarian solution is called for, and it is wrong to just stand one's ground." With this principle in place, Enoch argues that non-objective theories of morality license treating interpersonal moral disagreement in the way that Impartiality calls for; but, because interpersonal moral disagreements should not be treated in that way, non-objective theories of morality are mistaken.
Enoch, David. Taking Morality Seriously: A Defense of Robust Realism
Zimmerman was incited to commit his "crime" by two laws passed by the Florida legislature under the inspiration of right-wing ideologues: the right to carry a concealed weapon and the right to stand one's ground and defend ones person and property with deadly force.
Never never shall be slaves
Then there was being called Oliver Twist by one's so-called mates, but provided one could stand one's ground with a suitable rejoinder followed by a smack in the face, the message was soon reluctantly accepted!
VE Day went with a BANG! Our recent feature on the 65th anniversary of VE Day has sparked more fascinating wartime memories and these wonderful photos sent in by Nostalgia readers. Many thanks..
Intensely political folk quartet Ac Eraill weigh in early on with Catraeth, a song about the medieval battle of the same name that made a point about the need to stand one's ground in the language struggle.
gog SOUND; GO... to a concert