standing ovation

noun

: an occurrence in which the people at a play, speech, sporting event, etc., stand up and applaud to show enthusiastic approval or appreciation
The crowd gave her a standing ovation.

Examples of standing ovation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Her announcement at the parliament in Strasbourg, France, was greeted with a standing ovation. — Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026 In an emotional 2024 appearance at the Emmy Awards, Applegate was greeted with a standing ovation to present the nominees in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2026 Pete played just six snaps, but returned to the sideline to a standing ovation — a powerful show of support for the first member of the Navajo Nation to sign with an NFL team. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 But just moments later, as the name of lead star Andrew Scott appeared on stage, the loud snuffles were replaced with whoops and, in rather uncharacteristically British style, a standing ovation for the actor. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for standing ovation

Rhymes for standing ovation

See All Rhymes for standing ovation

Browse Nearby Words

standing order
standing ovation
standing part
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Standing ovation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standing%20ovation. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All