stand to reason

stand to rea·son
UK/ˌstænd tə ˈɹiːzn̩/US/ˌstænd tə ˈɹiz(ə)n/

verb

To seem logical, rational, or reasonable; to make sense.

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Meanings

verbstand to reason (third-person singular simple present stands to reason, present participle standing to reason, simple past and past participle stood to reason)

present singular third person stands to reason · participle present standing to reason · participle past stood to reason · past stood to reason

  1. idiomaticTo seem logical, rational, or reasonable; to make sense.

    It stands to reason that because of the difference in climate the necessity for rugging a horse in Australia would vary considerably from that in cold countries like England […]

    1966, M[argaret] I. Clarke, Care of the Horse and Pony, San Francisco, Calif.: Tri-Ocean Books, →OCLC, page 45, column 1
    1 more example

    But if the saying that those who want to govern, shouldn’t, applies here, does it really stand to reason that reluctant, brooding, can’t-be-bothered-to-say-goodbye-to-Ghost-the-good-boy types should?

    2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 28 Jan 2021

Origin

From stand (“(archaic or obsolete) to be consistent; to accord, agree”) + to + reason.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 有道理, 有意義 /有意义
  • 有道理 (yǒu dàolǐ)to seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
  • 有意義 /有意义 (yǒu yìyì)to seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
Finnish olla pääteltävissä
  • olla pääteltävissäto seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
French tomber sous le sens
  • tomber sous le sensto seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
German naheliegen
  • naheliegento seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
Japanese 道理に適う, 然もありなん
  • 道理に適う (dōri ni kanau)to seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
  • 然もありなん (samoarinan)to seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
Norwegian Bokmål synes fornuftig, synes logisk
  • synes fornuftigto seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
  • synes logiskto seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense
Polish być logicznym
  • być logicznymto seem logical, rational, or reasonable — see also make sense

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with stand to reason

seasonreasontreason
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

stand to reason. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stand%20to%20reason

MLA

“stand to reason.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stand%20to%20reason. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stand to reason,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stand%20to%20reason.

Source: stand to reason on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.