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RELATED WORDS

accessible, qualified, apt, ripe, handy, set, fit, completed, organized, primed, near, wired, equipped, adjusted, waiting, anticipating, convenient, expectant

Nearby words

  1. readjustment,
  2. readmission,
  3. readmit,
  4. readout,
  5. readthrough,
  6. ready money,
  7. ready reckoner,
  8. ready room,
  9. ready, willing, and able,
  10. ready-made

Idioms

Origin of ready

1150–1200; Middle English redy, early Middle English rædig, equivalent to Old English rǣde prompt + -ig -y1
ANTONYMS FOR ready
1. unfit. 3. unwilling.
SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR ready ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formso·ver·read·y, adjectivepre·read·y, adjective

Usage note

See already.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for at the ready

ready

/ (ˈrɛdɪ) /

adjective readier or readiest

noun

the ready informal short for ready money
at the ready
  1. poised for use or actionwith pen at the ready
  2. (of a rifle) in the position normally adopted immediately prior to aiming and firing

verb

(tr) to put in a state of readiness; prepare

Word Origin for ready

Old English (ge) rǣde; related to Old Frisian rēde, Old High German reiti, Old Norse reithr ready
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for at the ready
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with at the ready

at the ready

Available for immediate use, as in Umbrellas at the ready, we were prepared to brave the storm. This idiom was originally a military term in which the ready denoted the position of a firearm prepared to be raised and aimed or fired. [First half of 1800s]

ready

In addition to the idiom beginning with ready

, also see

  • at the ready
  • get ready
  • good and (ready)
  • rough and ready

.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.