ready-made

American  

[red-ee-meyd] / ˈrɛd iˈmeɪd /

adjective

1. made in advance for sale to any purchaser, rather than to order.

   a ready-made coat.

2. made for immediate use.

3. unoriginal; conventional.

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noun

1. readymade.

2. something that is ready-made, as a garment or a piece of furniture or equipment.

ready-made British  

adjective

1. made for purchase and immediate use by any customer

   a ready-made jacket

2. extremely convenient or ideally suited

   a ready-made solution

3. unoriginal or conventional

   ready-made phrases

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noun

1. a ready-made article, esp a garment

Etymology

Origin of ready-made

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Explanation

Ready-made things are standardized and bought right off the shelf, rather than being specially made. You might have to hem your ready-made curtains, but they're cheaper than having custom curtains sewn. Ready-made clothes are the ones you buy in stores or online that come in standard sizes. Custom, tailor-made, or bespoke clothing is the exact opposite — they're constructed to perfectly fit your body. Ready-made food is store-bought, and made commercially, not homemade. You can also use this adjective to describe something that's so quick and automatic it's become a cliche, like a politician's thoughtless, ready-made response to a reporter's question.

Example Sentences

Significantly, Monsignor Ready made his remarks at a service attended by the Apostolic Delegate to the U.S.,

From Time Magazine Archive

Ready made dresses of this kind differed greatly from the dresses made in Greece of the imported raw silk.

From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by Haines, T. L. (Thomas Louis)

The mother, two or three children, and their dog Ready made up the quiet household: not one to attract notice from any cause.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 75, January, 1864 by Various