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:
He said civil service unions "stand ready" to engage in negations "as soon as possible".
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Serious and unassuming, Eisenkot is in many ways the opposite of Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving prime minister, who has flawless American-accented English and is ever ready with headline-grabbing soundbites on US television or social media.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Elon Musk said Tesla could be ready to start shipping its Optimus humanoid robots to outside companies by the end of next year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
He’s healthy and ready for the challenge, which begins Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Luckily, I had a lie ready on my tongue.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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
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
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
But as a cameraman readied a drone to take a closer look, the smoke suddenly stopped.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The news follows Swift’s earlier announcement that she had readied a new single, “Patient Zero.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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
Huawei readied a new chip, the Ascend 950, that surprised early testers with its performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
"See that my litter is readied, I'll be leaving the castle as soon as I'm done here."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
She said the group is readying its strategy to get more funding for the program next year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are both readying their tokenization platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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
He also encouraged landowners and land managers to take precautionary measures including the readying of specialist fire equipment.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Thomas pulled up short, readying himself for a fight.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
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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.
