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:
This morning, I actually squealed when the library emailed to say my hold on “The Wind in the Willows”—a book I first read in sixth grade—was ready for pickup.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
By not extending his contract a summer ago, they made it clear: They were ready to move on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"Burnham needs to show us he's ready to take the tough decisions."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“This was not ready for a landing on the launch pad. SpaceX has landed and flown again the Starship booster,” Bernstein’s Douglas Harned said in a note to clients.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Dad nods and tells me to call him when I’m ready.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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
So six years ago she moved to Oregon, where she had readier access to the gender-affirming health care she needed to live as her authentic self.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2023
Mr. Welser-Möst drew real intimacy from the violins, though long singing lines don’t come naturally to this ensemble, which always seems readier to grimace than smile.
From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2020
They already had the gift, and their souls were readier for such things than the souls of others.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
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
Behind the scenes, Nasdaq has readied a cozy stable for unicorns to go public on its exchange rather than the NYSE.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
The engineers worried the truck’s open front end might bend or buckle under a process in which the vehicle body is readied for painting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Preston was given chest compressions and oxygen, while other medics rushed to help and specialist equipment readied.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
“Five minutes to showtime,” said Lil Miss Hot Mess, drag queen and hostess, as Latine drag kings El Daña and Manny Oakley readied themselves for the spotlight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Penelope readied the Temporary Ostrich Tether she had fashioned out of the twine that had been left in the trunk, back at the cave.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
He is also readying for his transfer to Japan by training intensively with a ronin, or masterless samurai, named Tetsuo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Politicians want to meet them, the media want to hire them -- content creators, seen as a key to reaching their young followers, are readying to be players in the 2027 presidential campaign.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
Michoacán is known for its annual Day of the Dead celebrations, and Manzo had spent weeks readying the city’s festival of lights.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Leading into the Masters, Rose made a schedule switch, dropping his original plan to play last week's Texas Open to concentrate on readying himself for the demands of Augusta.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
A hunt takes preparation, readying for readiness, it replied.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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.
