: 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 WebLetters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2024
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
Matthew Continetti, National Review, 28 Sep. 2024
Marcos must walk a fine line between lowering the temperature with Beijing and demonstrating that Manila will not stand down in the face of Chinese aggression.
—Marites Dañguilan Vitug, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stand-down 
Noun
The unraveling of the Cold War stand-down was set in motion in 2001 when President George W. Bush pulled the United States out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; the very next day Russia responded by withdrawing from the START II treaty.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2024
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
Verb
If Hezbollah doesn’t stand down, there is no other way to diminish the threat.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 28 Sep. 2024
Marcos must walk a fine line between lowering the temperature with Beijing and demonstrating that Manila will not stand down in the face of Chinese aggression.
—Marites Dañguilan Vitug, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stand-down
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 9 Oct. 2024.
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