stand the test of time

English

Verb

stand the test of time (third-person singular simple present stands the test of time, present participle standing the test of time, simple past and past participle stood the test of time)

1. (idiomatic) To remain useful or valued over a long period of time; to last a long time.

   Pop music comes and goes, but classical music has stood the test of time.

   • 2020 August 26, Tim Dunn, “Great railway bores of our time!”, in Rail, page 46:

     The urban myth of the sun shining through Box Tunnel on Brunel's birthday may have been knocked on the head, but in its portal facing designs he created structures which have stood the test of time well.

   • 2026 August 15, Naomi Pollock, “Japan’s vanishing architectural legacy”, in FT Weekend (House & Home section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10:

     Notable 20th-century buildings such as the Nagakin Capsule Tower, the Hotel Okura and Kenzo Tange's Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium—which is currently scheduled for demolition—are just some of the larger buildings that have not stood the test of time.

Related terms

• test of time
• stand the test

Translations

remain useful over a long period

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 经得起时间考验 (jīngdeqǐ shíjiān kǎoyàn)

• Dutch: de tand des tijds doorstaan
• Finnish: kestää aikaa
• German: die Zeiten überdauern
• Hungarian: kiállja az idő próbáját
• Italian: resistere alle ingiurie del tempo
• Polish: przetrwać próbę czasu
• Russian: выдерживать испытание временем impf (vyderživatʹ ispytanije vremenem), выдержать испытание временем pf (vyderžatʹ ispytanije vremenem)
• Spanish: perdurar la probatura del tiempo, perdurar la probatura temporal

See also

• future-proof