at the ready
20
3.5
- idiom
:
a mano
- All waited, their breaths held and their weapons at the ready, but no more horns sounded.
- camera at the ready
So earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, when these happen, FEMA's at the ready to help the people, Population protection planning.
- So earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, when these happen, FEMA's at the ready to help the people, Population protection planning.
- If she makes an error, is there someone at the ready to point a finger and pounce on her as if to send the message?
- So you had that at the ready and you were not going to do it.
- And since the narcissists are always at the ready to tell you that you did let them down, it double S down on your guilt.
- First off, why does Mike Pompeo have unmarked maps at the ready?
- And since the narcissist are always at the ready to tell you that you did let them down, it double S down on your guilt.
- Everyone's going to like people are literally at the ready right now, like first word cook, you know what I mean?
- All right, I clearly need a cart so and wow, look at that just white glove service carts at the ready.
Examples
-
The first rank will kneel, rifles at the ready.
-
You will then have a list of tailored resources at the ready.
Academic text (2011) -
All my soldiers stand at the ready
-
Shift a division to the coast and have a boat at the ready.
-
- We're at the ready, sir.
-
We need all the assets at the ready.
-
Keep the horses at the ready.
-
When he hit, they were there, and the sergeant had his baton at the ready.
Fiction book (2001) -
So earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, when these happen, FEMA's at the ready to help the people, Population protection planning.
-
All my soldiers stand at the ready for any orders from the commander.
Synonyms
233
1.6
Neatly arranged and ready to use
170
1.6
Completely ready to begin
103
1.3
Ready to use or do something when needed
85
3.5
Ready to start or continue something
81
2.1
Ready to use or help when needed
29
4.3
Prepared to begin an activity such as a game or meeting
12
2.8
Completely prepared and willing to begin
7
3.0
Fully prepared and available to begin or help right away
5
3.7
Ready to use when needed
4
5.3
Fully prepared for immediate fighting, for example troops or equipment
1
2.3
The state of being prepared to act immediately
1
3.4
You can reach and use it right away
1
4.6
Ready to take action or respond quickly
Prepared and alert to act immediately
Kept ready to be used if needed
Ready and available for use or action
Ready and willing to act immediately
Antonyms
How Ready
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + the + ready
The meaning is directly derivable from 'ready' (prepared) with the locative/frame marker 'at the' indicating a state or position — essentially 'in a ready state' — so a B1 learner who knows 'ready' and basic preposition/determiner use will infer the MWE. This pattern (preposition + determiner + adjective denoting state) is common and cross-linguistically familiar, making the expression transparent.
Etymology
At the ready comes from soldiers and guards who kept their weapons close and held in a position to use them right away. So today, being at the ready means 'prepared and available' to act immediately.