standby

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See also: stand-by and stand by

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Deverbal from stand by.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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standby (countable and uncountable, plural standbys)

  1. A state of readiness without immediate involvement; remaining in preparation for (a sudden or unforeseen event or situation).
    The troops were on standby in case of an attack.
  2. A replacement kept on standby.
    • 1977 December 17, Harold Pickett, quoting Jim Ferguson, “New York, New York”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 24, page 6:
      During three weeks of the run, I was performing with walking pneumonia, but I had no choice other than to perform because we didn't have the budget for stand-bys.
  3. (electronics) Sleep mode.
  4. (travel) Waiting at the airport in the hope of getting a seat on a flight that is already booked out.
  5. Something that is standard, well-tested, or frequently used.
    That recipe is an old standby, and she keeps the ingredients around in case of unexpected guests.
    • 2022 March 2, Erin Woo, Kevin Roose, “This Social Club Runs On Crypto Tokens and Vibes”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
      The restaurant, Hop Louie, was a Chinatown standby for decades before closing in 2016.
    • 2022 August 29, Julia Moskin, “It’s Not Just You — Blank Street Coffee Is Suddenly Inescapable”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
      Emerging from an Everyman Espresso shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn, last month, David Lieber, a customer, lamented what he saw as Blank Street’s targeting of a neighborhood standby.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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standby (third-person singular simple present standbys, present participle standbying, simple past and past participle standbyed)

  1. (proscribed, nonstandard, operations) To wait briefly, as for additional communication by radio or telephone; alternative form of stand by
    Standby while I check that for you.

Translations

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English standby.

Adjective

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standby m or f or n (indeclinable)

  1. standby

Declension

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