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:
Around 42,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes immediately, with a further 45,000 people urged to get ready to leave.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
For the first half-hour or so I was reflexively covering the brake pedal at intersections and merging lanes, ready to engage if the super-intelligence at the wheel did something stupid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
"I tell them they need to get ready and that if they show no signs, we'll be able to release them," he added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Is Los Angeles ready to host the Paralympics?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
“I told her about the Afterlife realms, that’s all! And she said she was ready, and she’d made a choice, and then out she went!”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Melody Butiu, who plays the Siegels’ Filipina nanny and indispensable factotum, has a readier place in our hearts for all that she has had to sacrifice to support her distant family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2025
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
The sixth-round pick out of Florida is showing some early signs that he may be readier to contribute if needed than the general perception when he was drafted.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2021
It has always struck me that were newspapers better able to see the virtue of this figure, they’d be readier to print apologies.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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
On the beach in Gaza City, the trio laid out their boards on the sand while they warmed up their limbs and readied their gear.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
A female quartet readied to play mariachi standards as Anamaria greeted well wishers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Behind McKinney was a screen listing issues flagged by the manufacturing teams as they readied the first EV truck prototypes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Luna then coordinated with Leger Fernández, who had readied an expulsion resolution against Gonzales, to force out the pair almost simultaneously.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
As we readied to leave, one staff woman cried out, “Morne Michel? Polo, do you want to kill your blan?”
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
The company said Monday it is "readying the first airplanes" for delivery to launch customer Southwest Airlines.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
He also encouraged landowners and land managers to take precautionary measures including the readying of specialist fire equipment.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
That is because countries across the globe are readying to shore up oil stockpiles like never before, which should keep the market tight for quite a while.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
California’s approach is to push forward with offshore wind preparations that fall within its jurisdiction, readying the ports and the power grid to eventually take on electricity from 1,000 turbines in federal waters.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
When we get back to the arena, Princess Rhyia is readying herself for her bout.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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.
