stand-down

1 of 2

noun

ˈstan(d)-ˌdau̇n 

: a relaxation of status of a military unit or force from an alert or operational posture

stand down

2 of 2

verb

stood down; standing down; stands down

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

: 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

Examples of stand-down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Police union calls Chicago ICE stand-down ‘a violation of the officer’s oath’ 3. —FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025

Along with honoring the two workers — killed within 24 hours of one another in Twin Cities construction zones — the first-ever statewide safety stand-down day included discussions and sharing of experiences to help workers improve safety. —Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2025

Verb

Alan Shearer and Dennis Bergkamp, two of the most prominent Premier League forwards of the time, stood down from international duty after that tournament. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025

However, Fox News previously obtained what appears to be a dispatch log indicating the chief of patrol did appear to order officers to stand down. —Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1916, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1651, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for stand-down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown