standby

See also: stand-by and stand by

English

Alternative forms

• stand-by

Etymology

Deverbal from stand by.

Pronunciation

• (noun): IPA^(key): /ˈstændˌbaɪ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (verb): IPA^(key): /ˈstænd ˈbaɪ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

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, →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, →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

• at the ready

Derived terms

• standby time

Translations

state of readiness without immediate involvement

Bulgarian: гото́вност (bg) f (gotóvnost) Danish: beredskab (da) Finnish: valmiustila (fi), valmius (fi) German: Bereitschaft (de) f Greek: αναμονή (el) f (anamoní) Hungarian: készenlét (hu), készültség (hu), harckészültség (hu) Maori: tūtatari Romanian: stare standby f, standby, așteptare (ro) f Russian: гото́вность (ru) f (gotóvnostʹ), состоя́ние гото́вности n (sostojánije gotóvnosti)

sleep mode of an electrical device — see also sleep mode

Bulgarian: гото́вност (bg) f (gotóvnost) Hungarian: készenlét (hu), készenléti üzemmód

waiting at the airport in the hope of getting a seat on a flight that is already booked out

Hungarian: lefoglalt, de üres/betöltetlen helyre várakozás repülőtéren

something that is standard, well-tested, or frequently used

Finnish: hätävara (fi) German: verlässliche und bewährte Sache f Greek: εφεδρικός (el) m (efedrikós) Hungarian: (jól) bevált (módszer/megoldás)

Verb

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.

   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:standby.

Translations

to wait briefly

Bulgarian: стоя в състояние на готовност (stoja v sǎstojanie na gotovnost) Finnish: odottaa hetki German: dranbleiben, kurz warten, abwarten (de), in Wartestellung bleiben Maori: tūtatari

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English standby.

Adjective

standby m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. standby

Declension

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	standby		standby	standby	standby
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive/ dative	indefinite	standby		standby	standby	standby
	definite	—		—	—	—

Declension of standby (invariable)