readier; readiest
1
a
: prepared mentally or physically for some experience or action
b
: prepared for immediate use
dinner is ready
2
a
: willingly disposed : inclined
ready to agree to his proposal
b
: likely to do something indicated
a house that looks ready to collapse
3
: displayed readily and spontaneously
a ready wit
4
: immediately available
had ready cash
see also:
Examples of ready in a Sentence
Adjective
I'll be ready in 10 minutes.
“Can we leave now?” “I'm ready when you are.”
Your prescription will be ready in about 20 minutes.
The car won't be ready until tomorrow.
We got everything ready for the party before the guests arrived.
Verb
They readied the room for guests.
She readied herself to speak.
We have to ready ourselves for a tough fight ahead.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Claude, as far as Amodei was concerned, was in any case not ready for unsupervised combat operations.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Jay Stahl, USA Today, 14 Mar. 2026
Mohammed al-Basha, a Middle East politics-and-security expert, told me that the Houthis have been readying themselves for action.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ready
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Adjective
If the Aztecs do land an at-large berth Sunday to the NCAA Tournament, Gwath looks ready to take advantage of it.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Claude, as far as Amodei was concerned, was in any case not ready for unsupervised combat operations.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Verb
Scott Evans was readying for the NAACP Image Awards on a summerlike Thursday morning in Southern California.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 14 Mar. 2026
Mohammed al-Basha, a Middle East politics-and-security expert, told me that the Houthis have been readying themselves for action.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ready
Cite this Entry
“Ready.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ready. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ready
1 of 2 adjective
readier; readiest
1
: prepared for use or action
dinner is ready
2
: likely to do something
ready to cry
3
: willing sense 1
ready to give aid
4
: showing ease and promptness
a ready answer
5
: available right away : handy
ready money
readily
adverb
ˈred-ᵊl-ē
readiness
noun
ˈred-ē-nəs
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