ready-made
Americanadjective
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made in advance for sale to any purchaser, rather than to order.
a ready-made coat.
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made for immediate use.
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unoriginal; conventional.
noun
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something that is ready-made, as a garment or a piece of furniture or equipment.
adjective
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made for purchase and immediate use by any customer
a ready-made jacket
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extremely convenient or ideally suited
a ready-made solution
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unoriginal or conventional
ready-made phrases
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
James accepted the lower salary to join a ready-made contender and chase a fifth championship under strict NBA roster-management penalties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
To exhibit a closeness that comes from a ready-made bond since birth.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
The argument from Crystal Palace campaigners is that by investing in a ready-made stadium, taxpayers save money in the long run, and athletics has a natural home.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
"These images may reveal intact patches of bone collagen, potentially offering a ready-made trove of fossil candidates for further protein analysis," Taylor explained.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
Though Ashima continues to wear nothing but saris and sandals from Bata, Ashoke, accustomed to wearing tailor-made pants and shirts all his life, learns to buy ready-made.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
