ready
Americanadjective
-
completely prepared or in fit condition for immediate action or use.
troops ready for battle;
Dinner is ready.
- Antonyms:
- unfit
-
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.
- Antonyms:
- unwilling
-
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.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
the state or condition of being ready.
-
Informal. ready money; cash.
interjection
idioms
-
make ready,
-
to bring to a state of readiness or completion; prepare.
-
Printing. to ready a press for printing.
-
-
ready up, to swindle.
-
get ready! (in calling the start of a race) be prepared to start.
Get ready! Get set! Go!
-
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.
adjective
-
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
-
on the point (of) or liable (to)
ready to collapse
-
(postpositive) conveniently near (esp in the phrase ready to hand )
-
to prepare oneself or something for use or action
noun
-
informal short for ready money
-
-
poised for use or action
with pen at the ready
-
(of a rifle) in the position normally adopted immediately prior to aiming and firing
-
verb
Commonly Confused
See already.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ready
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English redy, early Middle English rædig, equivalent to Old English rǣde “prompt” + -ig -y 1
Explanation
If you're ready for something, you're prepared — you're all set to do it. You're not truly ready for bed until you're wearing pajamas and have finished brushing your teeth. You can be physically ready, like when you grab a towel and sunblock to get ready for a day at the beach, or mentally ready, like when you're ready to rock your algebra test since you studied so much. Other things are ready when they're available, like dinner or a hotel room. If you ready something (or yourself), you prepare for some specific purpose. The Old English ræde meant "prepare a horse for riding," from a root meaning "ride."
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.
See Examples For:
The much talked about "Be Prepared" campaign is designed to help ready us for all sorts of possible crises, but the government says there is no specific threat to the grid.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Miller, 41, said Friday he was ready for battle.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Concurrently, I settled in L.A. and was ready to have an address again.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
But it was also something specific to this band: the ultimate Texan vindication, which happened to materialize while the Chicks were getting ready backstage.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026
I imagined that white girls with waved hair and flaring knee skirts did this sort of thing with their mothers—getting ready for dates, talking about boys.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Depending on the expertise and equipment at a given location, however, many patients in Germany currently have readier access to CSF analysis than to amyloid PET.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
For instance, clinical malaria is known to exhaust T cells, he says, and vaccination, by preventing infection, might therefore leave T cells readier to combat other pathogens.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 23, 2023
A bigger supply of vaccine, more people with immunity and readier access to a drug to treat mpox are among the reasons.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2023
I’m readier than I might have been in 2021, when “Sweatshop Overlord” had its premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, to collectively process the recent traumatic cascade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2023
The antelope were more wary, the birds readier to take flight.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Moore might not just be the best high school quarterback in the nation but also the readiest for the college game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
Reid has been with the Seahawks the longest, playing in the final preseason game, and Carroll said he is the readiest to contribute as a result.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2021
The readiest way to make sense of him—and to hold at arm's length the pathology that overshadowed and overpowered and informed his genius—is to approach him as some kind of martyr.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2013
Our dialects are often the weapon readiest to hand in that fight.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2012
His first proposition and request, that the dance begun at Mr. Cole’s should be finished there—that the same party should be collected, and the same musician engaged, met with the readiest acquiescence.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
He downloaded tide apps, readied himself with sandbags and felt prepared for this week’s return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Imola is being readied as a potential host for the final grand prix of the season on 4-6 December if the two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi cannot be held.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
With that cleared up, Parton readied her rhinestone mic-drop: “I just know if I have to pee, I’m gon’ pee.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Walmart implemented those plans on shelves June 29, and later readied a press release touting the price cuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
“I’m not sick,” she concluded as they readied to leave the stream and go back to the village.
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
Cuban military dictator Fulgencio Batista spent the next several decades seemingly readying himself to follow Machado to the Sunshine State if and when he needed to make a quick exit.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
It’s unclear, but teams are readying themselves to jump into action whenever the market does move.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
“That everlasting Origin,” Charles Darwin complained in 1868 as he was readying yet another version of “On the Origin of Species,” first published in 1859.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The president's latest order also arrives just as children across the country are readying to return to school, and as the US suffers its worst measles outbreak in 35 years.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Director squares his shoulders to me, a combatant readying for battle, his neck wiry, his eyes unblinking.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
