stand by
to be ready to do something
Did you know?
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
To be ready, or to get ready for something
steel yourself
to prepare yourself for something unpleasant
all systems go
used for saying that everything is ready for an event or an activity to begin
be ripe for something
to be ready for something, especially a change
be in business
to be ready to do something, because all the necessary preparations have been made
be looking to do something
planning to do something
have something up your sleeve
to have a secret plan that you can surprise someone with
screw up the courage/nerve to do something
to prepare mentally for doing something difficult
batten down
to get ready or to make something ready for a difficult or dangerous situation
vocal fry
a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence
BuzzWord ArticleWord of the Day
dray
a type of cart pulled by a horse and used in the past for carrying barrels of beer
Open Dictionary
conflict mineral
a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons
add a wordMore submissions
view entriesBlog
A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.
global English and language change from our blog