ready
completely prepared or in fit condition for immediate action or use: troops ready for battle;Dinner is ready.
duly equipped, completed, adjusted, or arranged, as for an occasion or purpose: The mechanic called to say that the car is ready.
willing: ready to forgive.
prompt or quick in perceiving, comprehending, speaking, writing, etc.
proceeding from or showing such quickness: a ready reply.
prompt or quick in action, performance, manifestation, etc.: a keen mind and ready wit.
inclined; disposed; apt: too ready to criticize others.
in such a condition as to be imminent; likely at any moment: a tree ready to fall.
immediately available for use: a ready source of cash.
pertaining to prompt payment.
present or convenient: to lie ready to one's hand.
to make ready; prepare.
the state or condition of being ready.
Informal. ready money; cash.
(used in calling the start of a race to indicate that racers should be prepared to start): Ready! Set! Go!
Idioms about ready
at the ready, in a condition of readiness, available for immediate use: shoppers with their umbrellas at the ready;soldiers keeping their weapons at the ready.
get ready! (in calling the start of a race) be prepared to start: Get ready! Get set! Go!
make ready,
to bring to a state of readiness or completion; prepare.
Printing. to ready a press for printing.
ready up, British and Australian Slang. to swindle.
Origin of ready
1confusables note For ready
Other words for ready
Opposites for ready
Other words from ready
- o·ver·read·y, adjective
- pre·read·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ready in a sentence
“Claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing, I think, is problematic at best,” Fauci said at a congressional hearing in July.
A Chinese vaccine maker says it’s inoculated 1 million people—even though its trials are incomplete | Grady McGregor | November 20, 2020 | FortuneGoogle, meanwhile, has a ready-made app that it customizes for each state.
Do digital contact tracing apps work? Here’s what you need to know. | Cat Ferguson | November 20, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewOnly a tenth of that was ready when Cyclone Amphan made landfall earlier this year.
Toppin, 22, was the oldest and perhaps the most NBA-ready of this year’s projected lottery picks.
On quiet night for NBA draft lottery selections, Anthony Edwards goes No. 1 to Timberwolves | Ben Golliver, Des Bieler | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostThe crowd of revenue-free startups planning to produce EVs down the road, like Fisker, Hyliion, and Lordstown, were plunging amid a growing aversion to risky stocks and concern that consumers might not be ready to go electric.
Electric vehicle stocks recover, but the road may not end well | Aaron Pressman | November 18, 2020 | Fortune
Forty years and one month of remodeling later, Zane had finally readied Further for its first long-haul journey.
The missile that had been readied on the launch ramp in France made it through the defenses.
Life Under Air Strikes: Children Under Fire Will Never Forget — or Forgive | Clive Irving | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLater, she readied herself to present the medals for the Russian figure skaters.
As many as 20,000 security personnel had been readied to guard the courthouse where the Brotherhood officials will stand trial.
From President to Prisoner: Mohamed Morsi’s Trial Starts in Egypt | Vivian Salama | November 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAthens stood at 130,000, Beijing readied 100,000, and Vancouver another 100,000.
It was interesting to fly over England at this time as everything was being readied for the eventual invasion.
The Biography of a Rabbit | Roy BensonThe particulars of this event had, it is evident, not yet readied him.
Life of Lord Byron, With His Letters And Journals, Vol. 5 (of 6) | (Lord Byron) George Gordon ByronMike switched off the vocoder, flipped his intercom to the temporary galley in the morgue, and ordered two breakfasts readied.
Where I Wasn't Going | Walt RichmondThe Valhalla has to be readied for blastoff, and once I check in aboard ship I can't come back to visit.
Starman's Quest | Robert SilverbergWhile the criminals readied the armed privateer for blast-off, Coxine and Wallace climbed directly to the radar bridge.
On the Trail of the Space Pirates | Carey Rockwell
British Dictionary definitions for ready
/ (ˈrɛdɪ) /
in a state of completion or preparedness, as for use or action
willing or eager: ready helpers
prompt or rapid: a ready response
(prenominal) quick in perceiving; intelligent: a ready mind
(postpositive foll by to) on the point (of) or liable (to): ready to collapse
(postpositive) conveniently near (esp in the phrase ready to hand)
make ready or get ready to prepare oneself or something for use or action
the ready informal short for ready money
at the ready
poised for use or action: with pen at the ready
(of a rifle) in the position normally adopted immediately prior to aiming and firing
(tr) to put in a state of readiness; prepare
Origin of ready
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with 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.
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