: a relaxation of status of a military unit or force from an alert or operational posture
stood down; standing down; stands down
1
: to leave the witness stand
2
chiefly British
a
: to go off duty
b
: to withdraw from a contest, a position of leadership, or a state of alert or readiness
: to remove from active duty
In December of 1944, it was judged safe to stand down the Home Guard … after four and a half years of guarding Britain against invasion.—
Anthony Bailey
Anthony BaileyExamples of stand-down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebEllie Kaufman, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2023
The decision to stand-down all aircraft also comes after two deadly Marine Corps crashes last month.
—Phil McCausland, NBC News, 18 Sep. 2023
Military officials in April ordered a 24-hour stand-down of all aviation units following two deadly mid-air helicopter collisions within 30 days.
—Matt Seyler, ABC News, 13 June 2023
In response to both incidents, the Army issued a service-wide stand-down for aviation units to complete mandatory safety training.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 3 May 2023
Army leadership on Friday ordered an aviation stand-down after two fatal helicopter crashes, the most recent of which killed three soldiers and injured a fourth in Alaska on Thursday.
—Phil Helsel, NBC News, 29 Apr. 2023
Army National Guard and Reserve units will have until May 31 to carry out their stand-downs.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 28 Apr. 2023
Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 22 May 2024
Earlier this week, NASA and Boeing were forced to stand down from a launch attempt of the Starliner spacecraft due to a faulty valve that ground teams discovered just hours before liftoff.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 13 May 2024
An Economist op-ed pasted below outlines suggestions for preventing another war in DRC by encouraging Rwanda – which backs the M23 rebels instigating fighting in the east – to stand down.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 28 Feb. 2024
Jennifer Abruzzo, acting general counsel of the NLRB as appointed by President Joe Biden, isn’t standing down to these corporate entities and called out their legal tactics during a panel hosted by the Roosevelt Institute last week.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
Biden has not used the tools supposedly available to compel Israel to stand down.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Then, out of nowhere, the order came to stand down.
—Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
This alone would neuter a U.S. attempt to press Israel to substantially alter, let alone stand down, its operations.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Who makes the Lego dynasty? Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the grandson of Ole, had previously served as Lego’s CEO from 1979 to 2004, when he was forced to stand down as the toymaker went through the most turbulent financial period in its history, nearing bankruptcy.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
Noun
The Marine Corps acting commandant, Eric Smith, on Monday issued a two-day stand-down to take place at some point this week for all aviation units both inside and outside of the United States, a spokesman told ABC News.
—Ellie Kaufman, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2023
The decision to stand-down all aircraft also comes after two deadly Marine Corps crashes last month.
—Phil McCausland, NBC News, 18 Sep. 2023
Military officials in April ordered a 24-hour stand-down of all aviation units following two deadly mid-air helicopter collisions within 30 days.
—Matt Seyler, ABC News, 13 June 2023
In response to both incidents, the Army issued a service-wide stand-down for aviation units to complete mandatory safety training.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 3 May 2023
Army leadership on Friday ordered an aviation stand-down after two fatal helicopter crashes, the most recent of which killed three soldiers and injured a fourth in Alaska on Thursday.
—Phil Helsel, NBC News, 29 Apr. 2023
Army National Guard and Reserve units will have until May 31 to carry out their stand-downs.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 28 Apr. 2023
Verb
From 2006-2011 agents in Arizona stood down as straw purchasers illegally bought 2,000 guns at shops, intending to use the information to track trafficking patterns and arrest the kingpins.
—Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 22 May 2024
Earlier this week, NASA and Boeing were forced to stand down from a launch attempt of the Starliner spacecraft due to a faulty valve that ground teams discovered just hours before liftoff.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 13 May 2024
An Economist op-ed pasted below outlines suggestions for preventing another war in DRC by encouraging Rwanda – which backs the M23 rebels instigating fighting in the east – to stand down.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 28 Feb. 2024
Jennifer Abruzzo, acting general counsel of the NLRB as appointed by President Joe Biden, isn’t standing down to these corporate entities and called out their legal tactics during a panel hosted by the Roosevelt Institute last week.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
Biden has not used the tools supposedly available to compel Israel to stand down.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Then, out of nowhere, the order came to stand down.
—Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
This alone would neuter a U.S. attempt to press Israel to substantially alter, let alone stand down, its operations.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Who makes the Lego dynasty? Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the grandson of Ole, had previously served as Lego’s CEO from 1979 to 2004, when he was forced to stand down as the toymaker went through the most turbulent financial period in its history, nearing bankruptcy.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stand-down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Stand-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand-down. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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