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

That's down from the 145% punitive level Trump had imposed until a handshake agreement in Geneva last month led to a mutual stand-down that also saw China reduce its duties on U.S. imports down to 10% from 125%. —Rob Wile, NBC news, 5 June 2025

The United States and China announced a 90-day stand-down in most of their punishing tariffs against each other, while a couple of reports on inflation in the United States came in better than economists expected. —Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025

Verb

Each word snaps off like a foot colliding firmly in Mrs. Kirkland’s rump, forcing the typically uncontested aggressor to stand down. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2025

There has always been a contradiction in how Biden has explained his decision to stand down as the nominee. —W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 5 Aug. 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