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:
It wasn’t clear whether either side was ready to accept a new halt to the fighting after the preliminary peace deal they signed in mid-June collapsed earlier this month, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
“We wanted to provide a place for adults to relax and reset and get ready for the next day or week,” co-owner Christie Kim says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
"I'm ready for more of the same, I just don't think that much is going to get better before it gets worse," said the 26-year-old hospitality worker.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
He wanted to reach that target by 2030, the year when many in Nato have said the alliance must be ready for conflict.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
There by the bed lay my prison bag, packed and ready as it had been since the summons from the chief of police.
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 feel I’m much readier for it this time.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 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
The antelope were more wary, the birds readier to take flight.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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
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
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
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
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
India is also reported to be readying a test-fire of the latest model of the domestically developed ballistic Agni missile -- meaning "fire" in Sanskrit -- capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
Miranda was readying herself for a party in Manhattan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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
Tally took a deep breath and bent her knees, readying herself to jump.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
