Standby

How to spell standby

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce standby

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does standby mean?

1. nounA person or thing kept ready to act or to be used if needed, or the state of waiting in readiness.
2. adjectiveKept ready for immediate use or available as a substitute or reserve.

Standby in a sentence

• noun

  The backup generator is kept on standby during storm season.

• adjective

  The laptop draws very little power in standby mode.

• noun

  Two nurses remained on standby in case the surgery ran long.

• adjective

  The airline offered her a standby fare for the next flight.

Where does standby come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Standby is a transparent English compound, built from the native Germanic verb 'stand', which descends from Old English 'standan' meaning 'to take or hold a position', and the equally old word 'by', from Old English 'bi', meaning 'near' or 'at hand'. The phrase 'to stand by' originally meant literally to remain close at hand, ready to act, and it became especially common in nautical and military usage, where a crew member was told to stand by a piece of equipment, waiting for the order to use it. By the nineteenth century the two words had fused into a single noun and adjective describing a person or thing kept in reserve for immediate use. Because both halves are short, plain English words, the only real spelling decision is whether to write it as one word, two words, or with a hyphen; the modern standard closes it up into 'standby'. The phrase later spread into broadcasting (a presenter on standby) and air travel (a standby ticket), keeping that same core idea of waiting in readiness.

How the word is built

• stand (verb: to remain in place, ready)
• by (adverb: near, in reserve)