View synonyms for standby

standby

or stand-by

[ stand-bahy ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural stand·bys.

a staunch supporter or adherent; one who can be relied upon.
something upon which one can rely and therefore choose or use regularly.
something or someone held ready to serve as a substitute, especially a radio or television program used as a filler in case of cancellation of a regularly scheduled program.
a traveler who is waiting for last-minute accommodations to become available on a plane, train, or other transport as a result of a cancellation.

kept readily available for use in an emergency, shortage, or the like:
a standby player.
of or relating to last-minute accommodations, the transport that offers them, or a traveler who is waiting for them:
a standby flight.
of or relating to a waiting period.

Origin of standby¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; noun, adj. use of verb phrase stand by

on standby, in a state of readiness to act, respond, or be used immediately when needed.

That's why medical teams, replete with Life Flight helicopters, are always on standby at tour events.

Daniel Schachner, the actor playing the referee for Puppy Bowl X, waits on standby to help out on the field.

Ballard had Lottie Jackson and the ambulance crew “on standby,” in case the jury wanted them.

So while the Republican race is in full throttle, the Democrats are left in standby mode.

They would rather you not think of devices in standby mode and would rather make that extension cord as invisible as possible.

When he had been with Ament little more than a year Sam had become office favorite and chief standby.

The wreck of the Clyde was once more our standby, providing a suitable length of chain and four shackles.

So Joes dismay at the thought of Jim, his main standby, letting down in his efficiency was amply justified.

I dilute with a few drops of water a little Liebig's extract, that precious standby of the kitchen.

They prove unmistakably that his standby was the grain crops grown on the open fields.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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