take the stand

present singular third person takes the stand · participle present taking the stand · past took the stand · participle past taken the stand

1. idiomaticTo testify as a witness in a trial.

   The press speculated about whether he would take the stand and testify in his defense.

   1 more example

   At the conclusion of the case, the defendant not having dared to take the stand, the lawyer arose to address the jury in behalf of what appeared a hopeless cause.

   1912, Arthur Cheney Train, “Tricks of the Trade”, in Courts and Criminals