action stations
Britishplural noun
interjection
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military a command to take up such positions
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informal a warning to get ready for something
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.
The first-stage alert lights began flashing—just an all-hands call to action stations, but I still expected the corridor to fill with hustling people.
From Slate • May 25, 2019
Over the loudspeaker system brassed the marine bugler's warning, the boatswain's call: "All hands to action stations."
From Time Magazine Archive
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The fleet he visits will have just returned from action stations where it was poised for combat.
From Time Magazine Archive
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The notes of the call to action stations were still screaming through the ship.
From The Lost Warship by Williams, Robert Moore
Two hours before sunrise the crews of the monitors were called to "action" stations.
From Rounding up the Raider A Naval Story of the Great War by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)
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.