stands

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of stand.

   The monument stands in the center of the town square.

   He stands firm whenever others begin to doubt the plan.

   Note

   Only he, she, it and singular nouns take this -s form. I, you, we and they keep plain stand. The -s ending carries across every way the verb works: on its own (the tower stands on a hill), as a linking verb before an adjective (she stands firm, it stands still), and transitively, setting something upright (he stands the ladder against the wall).

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of stand.

   The stadium stands rose in steep tiers above the field.

   Wooden stands held the potted plants near the sunny window.

   Note

   One spelling does double duty: stands is also the verb form that agrees with he, she or it, as in the present-tense verb. As a plural noun it counts the things a stand can be: devices that hold something upright, defensive efforts, or runs of performances at one venue. A determiner usually settles it. The stands and two stands are nouns, while a singular subject before the word (the tower stands) marks the verb.

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