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Showing results for at the ready. Search instead for lengthy ready.
Synonyms

at the ready

Idioms  

  1. 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]

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.

On a foggy winter morning captain Khetsopon Nopsiri led a six-strong Thai army patrol along dirt tracks through the forest, assault rifles at the ready.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

But the Treasury Department has a tool at the ready, the roughly $200 billion Exchange Stabilization Fund, that it can use to buy and sell foreign currencies to influence exchange rates.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

As much as U.S. women’s national soccer team coach Emma Hayes would like to have her full roster at the ready, having several veteran players out presents an opportunity.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

Hook it to your backpack or your belt loop and adventure worry-free with a beverage at the perfect temperature at the ready.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2025

The golden monkey, seeing Mrs. Coulter attacked, set Lord Roke down and sprang to her defense, just as the witch flew down, knife at the ready.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

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.