standby

noun

stand·by | \ ˈstan(d)-ˌbī

plural standbys\ ˈstan(d)-ˌbīz

Definition of standby

(Entry 1 of 4)

1a : one to be relied on especially in emergencies

b : a favorite or reliable choice or resource

2 : one that is held in reserve ready for use : substitute

on standby

: ready or available for immediate action or use

standby

adjective

Definition of standby (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : held near at hand and ready for use a standby power plant standby equipment

2 : relating to the act or condition of standing by standby duty a standby period

3 : of, relating to, or traveling by an airline service in which the passenger must wait for an available unreserved seat standby passengers a standby ticket

standby

adverb

Definition of standby (Entry 3 of 4)

: on a standby basis fly standby

stand by

verb

stood by; standing by; stands by

Definition of stand by (Entry 4 of 4)

intransitive verb

1 : to be present also : to remain apart or aloof

2 : to be or to get ready to act an ambulance was standing by

transitive verb

: to remain loyal or faithful to : defend stood by his decision

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about standby

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Examples of standby in a Sentence

Noun

More police officers were sent as standbys. We bought an electric generator as a standby.

Verb

no matter how much people object, I will stand by my decision

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The police department’s Emergency Response Team, which was on standby in case of any parade trouble, surrounded Joshua Carter’s Edgewood Street house and arrested him, Cicero said. — Christine Dempsey, courant.com, "Report: Hartford fire lieutenant’s stabbing happened during fight with brother over car," 5 June 2019 Residents and visiting firefighting crews are on standby to deploy at a moment’s notice. — Washington Post, "Burning kites from Gaza damage Israeli farms, wildlife," 20 June 2018 Residents and visiting firefighting crews are on standby to deploy at a moment's notice. — Aron Heller, Fox News, "Burning kites from Gaza damage Israeli farms, wildlife," 20 June 2018 All of the guys on standby have been really professional in their approach to this. — SI.com, "Liverpool Midfielder 'Devastated' After Missing Out on England World Cup Call," 17 May 2018 To keep skin smoother for longer, celebrity facialist Joanna Vargas recommends a combination of hydration, sunglasses to help ward off UV damage (make sure your sunnies come with UV protection), and that old skincare standby, sunscreen. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "The Best Ways to Handle Crow's Feet," 15 Feb. 2019 But since that isn’t what Democrats have in mind, the most likely outcome is that old Interstate 95 standby: gridlock. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "You Call That ‘Infrastructure’?," 3 Jan. 2019 Tests of strength are an old carnival standby, and Musée didn't disappoint. — Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, "This arcade is really vintage: Visiting San Francisco’s Musée Mécanique," 29 Sep. 2018 Our pro-business environment is seeing old standbys shrink and newcomers rise. — Jacob Feldman, SI.com, "Inside Australia's World Cup 2018 Streaming Fail and What It Means for the U.S.," 21 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Anyone without a reservation wanting to join the tour on June 29 will be added to a standby list. — Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, "Tour shows off Milpitas history," 14 June 2019 Still, the numbers are impressive, with twice the graphics performance, a 1.5X to 2X lower active power consumption, and a whopping 10X improvement on SOC standby performance. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Intel roadmap confirms 10nm 'Tiger Lake' chip with Xe graphics, more Ice Lake and Lakefield details," 9 May 2019 Installing a standby generator is no DIY project, either. — David Agrell, Popular Mechanics, "Should You Buy a Standby Generator?," 11 Sep. 2018 Carolina Herrera is one of the royals' standby designers; earlier this week, Meghan Markle wore a Herrera gown for a formal meeting with the King of Morocco. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Kate Middleton Gets Sporty in a Barbour Jacket, Ralph Lauren Sweater, and Sneakers," 27 Feb. 2019 In the half-century since Fontana slashed his paintings, any number of artists have followed his lead in deconstructing that old standby art object, the painting made on a piece of canvas stretched over a rectangular frame. — Peter Plagens, WSJ, "‘Lucio Fontana: On the Threshold’ Review: Creativity That Cuts Against the Grain," 22 Jan. 2019 For those unable to snag one of the free tickets (though there is a standby line), milelongopera.com offers 360-degree videos. — Heidi Waleson, WSJ, "‘The Mile-Long Opera: A Biography of 7 O’Clock’ Review: A Theme-Park Performance," 8 Oct. 2018 This chip will be aimed at ultra-mobile systems with the processor measuring 12×12×1mm and having a standby power of 2mW. Intel's not the only one to want to use different processes for different bits of a processor. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Intel introduces Foveros: 3D die stacking for more than just memory," 12 Dec. 2018 He’s squeezed the ole standby lying-to-investigators plea out of a few targets. — Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, "Doubling Down on Mueller," 15 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

According to the JetBlue website, customers with travel planned between September 5 and September 17 can rebook or travel standby without paying additional fees. — Natasha Bach, Fortune, "Satellite Image Shows Hurricanes Irma, Jose, and Katia in One Powerful Portrait," 7 Sep. 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Kushner stands by her side, cut evenly by the pane of the window, offering a faint, robotic smirk. — Jason Parham, WIRED, "Depth of Field: The Spooky Symmetry of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump," 6 June 2019 Kerr stood by Cousins in Game 2 and even inserted the former Kings malcontent into Golden State’s starting lineup. — Michael Shapiro, SI.com, "How DeMarcus Cousins Helped Flip the NBA Finals," 5 June 2019 Highsnobiety stood by its writer in a statement issued to USA TODAY Tuesday by Jennifer Ong of its public relations team. — Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, "Miley Cyrus completely drags author of critical 'She Is Coming' review: '#DoYourResearch'," 4 June 2019 But James tried and true fans are still standing by his side and have took to Twitter to send him messages of support. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "People on Twitter Are “Fixing” Their James Charles Palettes and It’s Brutal," 15 May 2019 Shop clerks stood by the entrances in pairs, their eyes flickering around for potential customers. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "China’s smartphone sales slowdown could hurt Apple’s bottom line, Goldman says," 15 Oct. 2018 Eighteen-year-old Abdul Karim Rajib and 17-year-old Diya Khanam Mim were standing by the side of the road when two buses in a rush to cross a flyover and pick up passengers came flying at them. — Jennifer Chowdhury, Teen Vogue, "Student Protests Over Road Safety in Bangladesh Turned Violent," 8 Aug. 2018 But Disney ABC Television Group President Ben Sherwood stood by the cancellation decision in an email to staff. — Stephen Battaglio, latimes.com, "Why did Disney take such a big gamble on 'Roseanne'? Blame the uncertain TV market," 31 May 2018 Armed guards would have to stand by the plane; otherwise the team might not have a plane to return to. — Wendy Naugle, Glamour, "Cynthia McFadden Went Into the Triangle of Death," 14 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'standby.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.