on standby

1. Ready and waiting, as in We've got three more painters on standby. This expression originated in the navy in the 1940s, where it referred to someone being ready to come on duty as soon as required. From about 1960 it began to be widely used in aviation for a passenger waiting to take the first available seat on a full flight.

Example Sentences

That could include turning off radiators in unused rooms, switching off lights when they are not needed, and not leaving electrical appliances on standby.

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The British Red Cross said it has placed its emergency response teams on standby to help communities most at risk.

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"Preparation to supply more food and non-food relief items to the victims is underway," said Murkomen, adding: "Military and police choppers are on standby to transport the items."

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“But when it’s 20 guys with assault rifles, there’s no way one person on standby is deterring that.”

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The Cessna Caravan had a pilot aboard on standby, along with a flight-test engineer, but was otherwise on its own.

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