stand on the shoulders of

verb

To build on the previous works and gains of.

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Meanings

verbstand on the shoulders of (third-person singular simple present stands on the shoulders of, present participle standing on the shoulders of, simple past and past participle stood on the shoulders of)

present singular third person stands on the shoulders of · participle present standing on the shoulders of · participle past stood on the shoulders of · past stood on the shoulders of

  1. idiomaticTo build on the previous works and gains of.

Origin

Clipping of stand on the shoulders of giants.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

stand on the shoulders of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stand%20on%20the%20shoulders%20of

MLA

“stand on the shoulders of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stand%20on%20the%20shoulders%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stand on the shoulders of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stand%20on%20the%20shoulders%20of.

Source: stand on the shoulders of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.