ready-made

American  

[red-ee-meyd] / ˈrɛd iˈmeɪd /

adjective

1. made in advance for sale to any purchaser, rather than to order.

   a ready-made coat.

2. made for immediate use.

3. unoriginal; conventional.

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noun

1. readymade.

2. something that is ready-made, as a garment or a piece of furniture or equipment.

ready-made British  

adjective

1. made for purchase and immediate use by any customer

   a ready-made jacket

2. extremely convenient or ideally suited

   a ready-made solution

3. unoriginal or conventional

   ready-made phrases

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noun

1. a ready-made article, esp a garment

Etymology

Origin of ready-made

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Explanation

Ready-made things are standardized and bought right off the shelf, rather than being specially made. You might have to hem your ready-made curtains, but they're cheaper than having custom curtains sewn. Ready-made clothes are the ones you buy in stores or online that come in standard sizes. Custom, tailor-made, or bespoke clothing is the exact opposite — they're constructed to perfectly fit your body. Ready-made food is store-bought, and made commercially, not homemade. You can also use this adjective to describe something that's so quick and automatic it's become a cliche, like a politician's thoughtless, ready-made response to a reporter's question.

Example Sentences

But it does let marketers test products in the wild, conduct grassroots consumer research and speak precisely to a ready-made target audience, proponents say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Use ready-made powerhouses Miso, canned beans, coconut cream, good stock: ingredients that arrive already carrying flavor.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Over time, more bees followed, using these natural cavities inside fossilized bones as ready-made nesting sites.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Our beautiful encircling topography of mountains and hills is a bowl ready-made by ancient plate tectonics to be filled with smoke and smog.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Times were changing and the ready-made dress was becoming popular.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck