stand-down
noun
a temporary cessation of offensive actions; cease-fire; truce.
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stand-down
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stand down
stand downverb(intr) to resign or withdraw, esp in favour of another
stand-down
American
[stand-doun]
/ ˈstændˌdaʊn /
Or
standdown
noun
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stand-downs
plural
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Military. a temporary cessation of offensive actions; cease-fire; truce.
a stand-down for the Christmas holidays.
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a work stoppage or layoff.
stand down
British
verb
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(intr) to resign or withdraw, esp in favour of another
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(intr) to leave the witness box in a court of law after giving evidence
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to go or be taken off duty
stand down
Idioms
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Leave a witness stand, as in The judge told her to stand down . [Late 1600s]
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Withdraw, as from a political contest or a game or race, as in Harry decided to stand down as a candidate for mayor . [Late 1800s]
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Go off duty, as in The American forces were ordered to stand down . [Early 1900s]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stand-down
First recorded in 1920–25; noun use of verb phrase stand down
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 boats were rejecting commands and were unable to reliably maneuver away from other traffic, prompting a safety stand-down, according to people familiar with the exercise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
President Bill Clinton helped mediate a stand-down, then signed the U.S.–China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, which established a forum to discuss these sorts of disputes, while also reviving a U.S. military treaty with the Philippines.
From Slate ● Oct. 4, 2023
Gen. Eric Smith, the acting commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the stand-down while authorities searched near two South Carolina lakes for the missing FB-35B Lightning II aircraft.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
On Friday, the Princess Royal attended a stand-down parade for 47 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton, attended by past and present personnel.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2023
During the first full day of Alpha’s stand-down, I didn’t run into Bobby Jorgenson once.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Microsoft’s in-house lawyers looked at her like she was crazy when she told them it was better to stand down than make a closing because she could see they were winning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Jon Lacey, the county's chief fire officer, said the decision to stand down the major incident reflected the "significant progress made by our crews and everyone who has supported this response".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
According to the complaint, federal prosecutors asked the state to stand down so the federal investigation could proceed, promising in exchange to pass along any information about state crimes committed in New Mexico.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is set to stand down to become a minister in Andy Burnham's government.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Listen, mouse, you can’t stand down there shouting up at me. Why not come into my lair, er, nest. Then we can chat together in comfort.”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
I was in the armed forces when we had some very significant stand-downs.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2021
The Pentagon did not define whether stand-downs pausing regular activity across the U.S. military might last minutes or hours, or what commanders would do during that time to express opposition to extremism.
From Reuters ● Feb. 3, 2021
He said a decision by the Tasmanian government on Thursday morning, to force visitors to the island from the mainland to go through 14 days of quarantine, meant more stand-downs.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 18, 2020
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.
