stand-down

1 of 2

noun

: a relaxation of status of a military unit or force from an alert or operational posture

stand down

2 of 2

verb

stood down; standing down; stands down

intransitive verb

1
: to leave the witness stand
2
chiefly British
a
: to go off duty
b
: to withdraw from a contest, a position of leadership, or a state of alert or readiness

transitive verb

: to remove from active duty
In December of 1944, it was judged safe to stand down the Home Guard … after four and a half years of guarding Britain against invasion.Anthony Bailey

Examples of stand-down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
The unraveling of the Cold War stand-down was set in motion in 2001 when President George W. Bush pulled the United States out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; the very next day Russia responded by withdrawing from the START II treaty. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2024 The Marine Corps acting commandant, Eric Smith, on Monday issued a two-day stand-down to take place at some point this week for all aviation units both inside and outside of the United States, a spokesman told ABC News. Ellie Kaufman, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2023
Verb
Ben’s refusal to stand down for a middle-aged white man seeking to wrest power from him was radical, as was the film’s ending, in which the hero was shot by yokels failing to distinguish him from the zombies previously described as animals. Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024 DeSantis can’t run for a third term as governor in 2026, because state law requires those who have been elected to two successive terms to stand down at least for one election cycle. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for stand-down 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1916, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1651, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stand-down was in 1651

Dictionary Entries Near stand-down

stand by

stand-down

stand down

Cite this Entry

“Stand-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand-down. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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