: 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 Web
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 8 Mar. 2025
There had previously been a stand-down of Army aviation that followed the March 2023 collision of two Black Hawk helicopters at Fort Campbell that killed nine soldiers.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2025
Steff Danielle Thomas, The Hill, 22 Mar. 2025
The Lakers have stood down some of the Western Conference’s giant teams with the strategy, with Dorian Finney-Smith’s plus/minus numbers as the best evidence.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stand-down
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Noun
Other delays surrounded bad weather present while teams were transporting the spacecraft to the launch site and a stand-down required to support a government high-priority range operation, Scheiman said.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 8 Mar. 2025
There had previously been a stand-down of Army aviation that followed the March 2023 collision of two Black Hawk helicopters at Fort Campbell that killed nine soldiers.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2025
Verb
Foreman, a vocal supporter of Trump, commended the real estate mogul early into his first term in office for not standing down to political foes.
—Steff Danielle Thomas, The Hill, 22 Mar. 2025
The Lakers have stood down some of the Western Conference’s giant teams with the strategy, with Dorian Finney-Smith’s plus/minus numbers as the best evidence.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stand-down
Cite this Entry
“Stand-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand-down. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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