standoff
noun
a standing off or apart; aloofness.
standoffs
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pluralof standoff.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
At the same time, carriage negotiations with programmers are more fraught, often leading to standoffs where channels are pulled, disrupting service to customers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
That idea has long been used to describe evolutionary standoffs between species, such as hosts and the parasites or pathogens that attack them.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 26, 2026
In a year of record stock highs, artificial-intelligence moonshots and tense standoffs on global trade, Warren Buffett spent much of it watching, and waiting for the right moment to strike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025
Belarus on Monday summoned a Lithuanian envoy for a dressing down over a drone crash, the latest in a swirl of diplomatic standoffs between the neighbouring post-Soviet states.
From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025
Oleg Gordievsky's career as a double agent had landed him right in the middle of one of the most dangerous standoffs of the Cold War—and into scalding-hot water with the KGB.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
