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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

standby.

A state of readiness without immediate involvement; remaining in preparation for (a sudden or unforeseen event or situation).

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈstændˌbaɪ̯/[ˈstændˌbaɪ̯]/ˈsteə̯ndˌbaɪ̯/Canada, US/ˈstɛə̯ndˌbaɪ̯/Canada, US
  1. A state of readiness without immediate involvement; remaining in preparation for (a sudden or unforeseen event or situation).

    countable · uncountable
    The troops were on standby in case of an attack.
  2. A replacement kept on standby.

    countable · uncountable
  3. Sleep mode.

    countable · uncountable
  4. Waiting at the airport in the hope of getting a seat on a flight that is already booked out.

    countable · uncountable
  5. Something that is standard, well-tested, or frequently used.

    countable · uncountable
    That recipe is an old standby, and she keeps the ingredients around in case of unexpected guests.
Where this word comes from

Deverbal from stand by.

verb/ˌstændˈbaɪ̯/[ˌstændˈbaɪ̯]/ˌsteə̯ndˈbaɪ̯/Canada, US/ˌstɛə̯ndˈbaɪ̯/Canada, US
  1. To wait briefly, as for additional communication by radio or telephone; alternative form of stand by.

    nonstandard · proscribed
    Standby while I check that for you.
Where this word comes from

Deverbal from stand by.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.