stand·off
ˈstand-ˌȯf 
1
2
: used for holding something at a distance from a surface
a standoff insulator
stood off; standing off; stands off
Synonyms
Examples of standoff in a Sentence
Noun
The two governments are currently in a standoff over who has rights to the land.
after two hours they had played to a 5–5 standoff
Adjective
the client's standoff attitude suggested that this was going to be a strictly business relationship
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephen Fowler, NPR, 25 May 2024
An hourslong standoff ensued between officers and the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Todd Christopher Marchetti.
—Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 21 May 2024
The standoff contributed to billions of dollars in losses for the companies and put thousands of workers temporarily out of work.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 17 May 2024
Long Beach police said Monday that a person killed during a standoff with officers last month was a 17-year-old boy.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
An 11-year-old boy called police to report being abused by his father, leading to an early-morning standoff lasting more than three hours, Wisconsin police said.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2024
Officers escalated the situation to an Operation 100, a standoff including a SWAT team.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2024
The standoff between Lloyd and Walker reaches a fever pitch when the senior ranch hand breaks Walker’s guitar and stabs him in the chest.
—Kayla Keegan, Peoplemag, 11 May 2024
The standoff between student protesters and college administrators over tents is part of a national movement calling attention to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2024
Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 8 May 2024
Police in riot gear stand off against protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Thursday.
—Times Photography Staff, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
Video showed some protesters removing barriers that separated the two sides as fast-moving participants bumped bodies, stood off and yelled at one another.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 29 Apr. 2024
Whereas the United States and China are engaged in a new kind of cold war over economic dominance, India and China have had troops standing off at their border since 1962.
—Suhasini Raj, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
Sharing your beliefs can stir the pot when the moon stands off with Mercury.
—USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
In the video, Wade stands off to the side of the Vanity Fair Oscar Party carpet to take photos of Union from the side.
—Sabienna Bowman, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
At spring practice, Williams can frequently be seen standing off to the side while other defensive tackles go through drills.
—Kortay Vincent, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024
The Housewives, standing off to the side, weren’t safe: Merce was out of the purse — and speckled onto their dresses, their faces, their hair.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024
Noun
In many ways, the spat over the convention is reminiscent of the meme that sees three Spider-Mans in a standoff pointing at each other, because the Libertarian Party, Kennedy and Trump are all competing for this same pool of voters.
—Stephen Fowler, NPR, 25 May 2024
An hourslong standoff ensued between officers and the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Todd Christopher Marchetti.
—Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 21 May 2024
The standoff contributed to billions of dollars in losses for the companies and put thousands of workers temporarily out of work.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 17 May 2024
Long Beach police said Monday that a person killed during a standoff with officers last month was a 17-year-old boy.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
An 11-year-old boy called police to report being abused by his father, leading to an early-morning standoff lasting more than three hours, Wisconsin police said.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2024
Officers escalated the situation to an Operation 100, a standoff including a SWAT team.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2024
The standoff between Lloyd and Walker reaches a fever pitch when the senior ranch hand breaks Walker’s guitar and stabs him in the chest.
—Kayla Keegan, Peoplemag, 11 May 2024
The standoff between student protesters and college administrators over tents is part of a national movement calling attention to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2024
Verb
Videos on social media showed law enforcement standing off to the side during the fighting and shooting rubber bullets into the melee.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 8 May 2024
Police in riot gear stand off against protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Thursday.
—Times Photography Staff, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
Video showed some protesters removing barriers that separated the two sides as fast-moving participants bumped bodies, stood off and yelled at one another.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 29 Apr. 2024
Whereas the United States and China are engaged in a new kind of cold war over economic dominance, India and China have had troops standing off at their border since 1962.
—Suhasini Raj, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
Sharing your beliefs can stir the pot when the moon stands off with Mercury.
—USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
In the video, Wade stands off to the side of the Vanity Fair Oscar Party carpet to take photos of Union from the side.
—Sabienna Bowman, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
At spring practice, Williams can frequently be seen standing off to the side while other defensive tackles go through drills.
—Kortay Vincent, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024
The Housewives, standing off to the side, weren’t safe: Merce was out of the purse — and speckled onto their dresses, their faces, their hair.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'standoff.' 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
“Standoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standoff. Accessed 2 Jun. 2024.
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