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 Fed "has to be ready to tighten monetary policy to prevent a repeat of the 2021-to-2022 inflation episode," said Fed Governor Christopher Waller on July 13.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
A strong group of teams will be traveling to Hawaii next month, so they’ll be getting ready a little faster for football and surfing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
With no competitive warm-ups before their Champions League journey began, Vrancken insists his players weren't ready.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
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
We were ready for our first trial run.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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
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
But Forsythe has given signs he may be readier to play than was commonly thought, performing admirably in pass-rush drills, in particular.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2021
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
“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
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
It had been a firing day, although he had readied the foil strength of his youth, and he leaned his head against the back of his throne, thinking about the events of the marriage.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
He also encouraged landowners and land managers to take precautionary measures including the readying of specialist fire equipment.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
When the company was readying Yahoo Scout, its AI assistant, she tested early versions of the product alongside the team and gave feedback on its answers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 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
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
I took a deep breath, readying myself to tell Momma the whole truth, when someone cleared their throat.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
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.
