stand for

1. (idiomatic) To mean; to symbolize; to represent

   The abbreviation CIA stands for "Central Intelligence Agency".

   • 2014, A teacher, "Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents ↗", The Guardian, 23 September 2014:

     Some teachers festoon every spare inch of wall with vocabulary choices or maths techniques to use, which look great at first, but to some children might appear quite daunting. You'll probably see unfamiliar acronyms such as Walt (We Are Learning To). Be sure to ask what they stand for and how they are used in practice.

   • 1693, [John Locke], “§134”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], OCLC 1161614482 ↗:

     whether these names do not some of them sometimes stand for the same thing

2. To advocate, to support
3. To tolerate

   We won't stand for that type of behaviour.

• Spanish: significar, representar

• German: einsetzen (reflexive + für), eintreten (+ für), unterstützen