ready

[red-ee] /ˈrɛd i/
adjective, readier, readiest.
1.
completely prepared or in fit condition for immediate action or use:
troops ready for battle; Dinner is ready.
2.
duly equipped, completed, adjusted, or arranged, as for an occasion or purpose:
The mechanic called to say that the car is ready.
3.
willing:
ready to forgive.
4.
prompt or quick in perceiving, comprehending, speaking, writing, etc.
5.
proceeding from or showing such quickness:
a ready reply.
6.
prompt or quick in action, performance, manifestation, etc.:
a keen mind and ready wit.
7.
inclined; disposed; apt:
too ready to criticize others.
8.
in such a condition as to be imminent; likely at any moment:
a tree ready to fall.
9.
immediately available for use:
a ready source of cash.
10.
pertaining to prompt payment.
11.
present or convenient:
to lie ready to one's hand.
verb (used with object), readied, readying.
12.
to make ready; prepare.
noun
13.
the state or condition of being ready.
14.
Informal. ready money; cash.
interjection
15.
(used in calling the start of a race to indicate that racers should be prepared to start):
Ready! Set! Go!
Idioms
16.
at the ready, in a condition of readiness, available for immediate use:
shoppers with their umbrellas at the ready; soldiers keeping their weapons at the ready.
17.
get ready!, (in calling the start of a race) be prepared to start:
Get ready! Get set! Go!
18.
make ready,
  1. to bring to a state of readiness or completion; prepare.
  2. Printing. to ready a press for printing.
19.
ready up, British and Australian Slang. to swindle.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English redy, early Middle English rædig, equivalent to Old English rǣde prompt + -ig -y1
Related forms
overready, adjective
preready, adjective
Synonyms
1. fit, set. 3. agreeable, glad, happy. 4. alert, acute, sharp, keen, adroit, facile, clever, skillful, nimble, adaptable.
Antonyms
1. unfit. 3. unwilling.
Usage note
See already.
Examples from the web for ready
  • Being ready and prepared will have big effects to the interview.
  • Travel-ready bags to keep your gear organized and right at hand.
  • When you know what to do, you can plan with your household and prepare in advance to be ready.
  • Yet another bipartisan panel gets ready to tackle the deficit.
  • Browse the adventure and exploration photos in our archive-each one ready to be downloaded as wallpaper.
  • Then there's the matter of the resources it takes to fatten up an animal until it's ready for the table.
  • It's not the diplomacy-minded former president who is ready to spy, it's the secretive nuclear submarine named for him.
  • It made big headlines two years ago, even though it wasn't quite ready for prime time.
  • Make sure your application materials are ready to go.
  • On her screen, the larger of two whooping cranes flaunts his outstretched wings, showing that he's ready to breed.
British Dictionary definitions for ready

ready

/ˈrɛdɪ/
adjective readier, readiest
1.
in a state of completion or preparedness, as for use or action
2.
willing or eager: ready helpers
3.
prompt or rapid: a ready response
4.
(prenominal) quick in perceiving; intelligent: a ready mind
5.
(postpositive) foll by to. on the point (of) or liable (to): ready to collapse
6.
(postpositive) conveniently near (esp in the phrase ready to hand)
7.
make ready, get ready, to prepare oneself or something for use or action
noun
8.
(informal) the ready, short for ready money
9.
at the ready
  1. poised for use or action: with pen at the ready
  2. (of a rifle) in the position normally adopted immediately prior to aiming and firing
verb
10.
(transitive) to put in a state of readiness; prepare
Word Origin
Old English (ge)rǣde; related to Old Frisian rēde, Old High German reiti, Old Norse reithr ready
Word Origin and History for ready
adj.

Old English ræde, geræde "prepared, ready," of a horse, "ready for riding," from Proto-Germanic *garaidijaz "arranged" (cf. Old Frisian rede "ready," Middle Dutch gereit, Old High German reiti, Middle High German bereite, German bereit, Old Norse greiðr "ready, plain," Gothic garaiþs "ordered, arranged"), from PIE root *reidh- "to ride" (see ride (v.)). Lengthened in Middle English by change of ending. Ready-made first attested early 15c.; ready-to-wear is from 1890.

v.

early 13c., "to administer;" c.1300, "to take aim;" mid-14c., "to prepare, make ready," from ready (adj.). Related: Readied; readying.

Idioms and Phrases with ready

ready

In addition to the idiom beginning with
ready
also see: