read·y (rĕd'ē)
adj., -i·er, -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

1. Available for immediate use: soldiers with machine guns at the ready; students with notebooks at the ready.

make ready

1. To make preparations.

[Middle English redy, from Old English rǣde.]

readiness read'i·ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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