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read·y (rĕdē)
Share:
adj. read·i·er, read·i·est
1. Prepared or available for service, action, or progress: I am ready to work. The soup will be ready in a minute. The pupils are ready to learn to read.
2. Mentally disposed; willing: He was ready to believe her.
3. Likely or about to do something: She is ready to retire.
4. Prompt in apprehending or reacting: a ready intelligence; a ready response.
5. Available: ready money.
tr.v. read·ied, read·y·ing, read·ies
To cause to be ready.
Idioms:
at the ready
Available for immediate use: soldiers with machine guns at the ready; students with notebooks at the ready.
make ready
To make preparations.
[Middle English redy : Old English rǣde; see reidh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + Middle English -y, -y; see -Y1.]
readi·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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