stand at attention

• stand to attention

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stand at attention (third-person singular simple present stands at attention, present participle standing at attention, simple past and past participle stood at attention)

1. (military) To stand straight with eyes forward and feet together.
   • 1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn:

     It is a strange fact, but it is unquestionably true that almost any English intellectual would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during “God save the King” than of stealing from a poor box.

2. (humorous) To have an erection.

• “stand at attention”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “stand at attention”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “stand to at attention” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.