stans

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of stan.

   Online stans defended the album against every critic.

   The two rival fandoms' stans argued for days over the awards.

   Note

   One spelling holds two very different plurals. In fan talk, stans are obsessive admirers of a person, group or work, and the word can turn derogatory when the fixation becomes unhealthy or intrusive. In geopolitical talk, "the stans" are the countries whose names end in -stan, often ex-Soviet ones such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Context decides which is meant, and the same spelling also serves the verb of fandom.

2. 2
   verbslang

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of stan.

   He stans the director so hard that he rewatches every film weekly.

   My coworker stans that author and quotes her constantly.

   Note

   Slang that conjugates like any regular verb, adding -s after he, she or a singular noun. It takes two constructions: a direct object (she stans the band) or the preposition for (he stans for that director). Both mean being an obsessive fan. As slang, it suits online and casual talk rather than formal prose.

   She stans for every band on that label.

   Nobody stans for that show like my brother does.

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