Stand out means to be easy to notice, or to be clearly better than others. You can use it about appearance (a bright colour, unusual clothes) and about quality: a CV, an essay, an answer at an interview.
Want to use stand out in conversation?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
stand out from/among + group; stand out as + noun; make something stand out
- Her bright yellow coat stood out in the grey winter crowd.
- Your CV will stand out if you describe real results, not just your duties.
- Among forty essays, Tom's stood out because of its clear structure.
What changed
First versionAt the interview, I want to stand out of the other candidates.
RevisionAt the interview, I want to stand out from the other candidates.
Stand out already contains out, so out of can seem logical. But the group someone stands out against is introduced with from: stand out from the crowd, from the other candidates. Only the preposition changed.
Stand out describes something that is noticeable on its own. When you make something noticeable in a text yourself, you need a different verb, highlight. Compare: The main points stand out (they are easy to notice anyway) and I highlighted the main points (I marked them with a highlighter).
Your turn
Use a bold font for the key dates so that they ___ on the slide.
Show the answer
stand out — The bold font is there so that the dates catch the eye, and that is stand out. Stand up means to get to your feet and doesn't fit text on a slide.
Imagine you are applying for a job or a university place you have wanted for a long time. Write how your application will stand out from the others, and name one specific achievement.
My application will stand out from the others because I increased our online sales by 30% in one year.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.