ready

/ˈrɛdi/

/ˈrɛdi/

Other forms: readiest; readier; readied; readying; readies

If you're ready for something, you're prepared — you're all set to do it. You're not truly ready for bed until you're wearing pajamas and have finished brushing your teeth.

You can be physically ready, like when you grab a towel and sunblock to get ready for a day at the beach, or mentally ready, like when you're ready to rock your algebra test since you studied so much. Other things are ready when they're available, like dinner or a hotel room. If you ready something (or yourself), you prepare for some specific purpose. The Old English ræde meant "prepare a horse for riding," from a root meaning "ride."

Definitions of ready

1. adjective

   completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
   “get ready”

   “she is ready to resign”

   “the bridge is ready to collapse”

   “I am ready to work”

   “ready for action”

   “ready for use”

   “the soup will be ready in a minute”

   “ready to learn to read”

   synonyms:

   prepared

   made ready or fit or suitable beforehand

   at the ready

   ready for immediate use

   fit, primed, set

   (usually followed by `to' or `for') on the point of or strongly disposed

   in order

   in a state of proper readiness or preparation or arrangement

   prompt

   ready and willing or quick to act

   ripe

   fully prepared or eager

   ready and waiting, waiting

   being and remaining ready and available for use

   willing

   disposed or inclined toward

   antonyms:

   unready

   not prepared or in a state of readiness; slow to understand or respond

   unprepared

   without preparation; not prepared for

   flat-footed

   unprepared and unable to react quickly

   napping, off guard, off her guard, off his guard, off one's guard, off your guard, off-guard

   not prepared or vigilant

   unripe

   not fully prepared
2. adjective

   made suitable and available for immediate use
   “dinner is ready”

   synonyms:

   prepared

   made ready or fit or suitable beforehand
3. adjective

   (of especially money) immediately available
   “he seems to have ample ready money”

   “a ready source of cash”

   synonyms:

   available

   obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
4. adjective

   mentally disposed
   “he was ready to believe her”

   synonyms:

   willing

   disposed or inclined toward
5. adjective

   apprehending and responding with speed and sensitivity
   “a ready wit”

   synonyms: quick

   intelligent

   having the capacity for thought and reason especially to a high degree
6. noun

   poised for action
   type of:

   preparation, preparedness, readiness

   the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action)
7. verb

   make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
   “Get the children ready for school!”

   synonyms: fix, gear up, prepare, set, set up

   types:

   socialise, socialize

   prepare for social life

   provide

   take measures in preparation for

   cram

   prepare (students) hastily for an impending exam

   precondition

   put into the required condition beforehand

   fix

   kill, preserve, and harden (tissue) in order to prepare for microscopic study

   mount

   fix onto a backing, setting, or support

   lay out, set, set up

   get ready for a particular purpose or event

   winterise, winterize

   prepare for winter

   summerise, summerize

   prepare for summer

   prime

   insert a primer into (a gun, mine, or charge) preparatory to detonation or firing

   crop, cultivate, work

   prepare for crops

   brace, poise

   prepare (oneself) for something unpleasant or difficult

   overcrop, overcultivate

   to exhaust by excessive cultivation

   nerve, steel

   get ready for something difficult or unpleasant

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
8. verb

   prepare for eating by applying heat
   synonyms: cook, fix, make, prepare

   make

   gather and light the materials for

   types:

   keep, preserve

   prevent (food) from rotting

   dress, dress out

   kill and prepare for market or consumption

   deglaze

   dissolve cooking juices or solid food in (a pan) by adding liquid and stirring

   escallop, scallop

   bake in a sauce, milk, etc., often with breadcrumbs on top

   flambe

   pour liquor over and ignite (a dish)

   put on

   put on the stove or ready for cooking

   devil

   coat or stuff with a spicy paste

   precook

   cook beforehand so that the actual preparation won't take long

   whip up, whomp up

   prepare or cook quickly or hastily

   concoct, cook up

   prepare or cook by mixing ingredients

   lard

   prepare or cook with lard

   freeze-dry

   preserve by rapid freezing and subsequently drying in a vacuum

   conserve

   preserve with sugar

   dehydrate, desiccate

   preserve by removing all water and liquids from

   pickle

   preserve in a pickling liquid

   salt

   preserve with salt

   can, put up, tin

   preserve in a can or tin

   refrigerate

   preserve by chilling

   cure

   prepare by drying, salting, or chemical processing in order to preserve

   corn

   preserve with salt

   type of:

   create from raw material, create from raw stuff

   make from scratch