1
as in tie
a situation in which neither participant in a contest, competition, or struggle comes out ahead of the other
after two hours they had played to a 5-5 standoff
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in halt
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in
the standoff continued for three days before the fugitive gave himself up to the authorities
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in detached
having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others
the client's standoff attitude suggested that this was going to be a strictly business relationship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of standoff
Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2025
Police initially announced the standoff in a post shortly after noon on Monday, March 17, and asked residents to avoid the area.
—Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Mar. 2025
USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024
Slater came out of the facility and stood off to the side of the practice fields.
—Daniel Popper, The Athletic, 27 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for standoff
Noun
In their successful bid to put Amiri behind bars, prosecutors revealed a previously undisclosed tense standoff between Amiri and his department’s chief in 2023.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2025
Police initially announced the standoff in a post shortly after noon on Monday, March 17, and asked residents to avoid the area.
—Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Mar. 2025
Verb
Hidden desires come into the light when the sun stands off with Uranus.
—USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024
Slater came out of the facility and stood off to the side of the practice fields.
—Daniel Popper, The Athletic, 27 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for standoff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for standoff
Noun
-
The car that couldn’t stop struck a railroad tie and crashed upside-down into the pond off Ardendale Road.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2025
-
San Fernando 11, Kennedy 4: The Tigers broke a 4-4 tie with seven runs in the ninth inning for the Valley Mission League win.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But his career came to a screeching halt later that year.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA TODAY,
18 Mar. 2025
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His term began with large-scale immigration raids, a halt to asylum processing for undocumented migrants, and executive orders aimed at expanding the authority of ICE to arrest and detain those in the country illegally.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But even the most detached fan knows that getting to the podium requires a narrative, a story behind the story.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2025
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One adult who lives in the detached garage and six adults and three cats who live in an adjacent home were displaced by the fire, according to the post.—
Graeme Taskerud,
The Denver Post,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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A number of overnight flights out of L.A. were asked to turn back three to four hours into their journeys.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
21 Mar. 2025
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More than likely, they are caught, Helly is forced to go upstairs to turn back into Helena, and either Mark is murdered for doing such damage to Lumon’s plan (and for killing a Lumon executive), or Innie Mark essentially dies when Lumon also forces him to go upstairs.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Spurs saw that intensity first-hand in the 2-2 draw with them in north London on March 9, where the visitors took 17 shots while nicking the ball eight times in the attacking third.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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This commonality is the show — and podcast’s — key draw: everyone has places to be.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Now the Comcast impasse threatens to keep the White Sox off the air on the largest pay-TV provider in the Chicago market, a potentially devastating blow to the fans, the team and the new regional sports network.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Germany’s political and economic impasse need not result in a future defined by the far right.—
Liana Fix,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And while observatories in space and on the ground can give some clues about exoplanets, stars themselves are crucial to understanding these distant worlds.—
Elizabeth Landau,
Smithsonian Magazine,
19 Mar. 2025
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And someday, our current limitations will also become remnants of distant tournament history.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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MacKinnon remained stuck on 102 points after being held off the scoresheet by the Calgary Flames on Friday.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
The Athletic,
15 Mar. 2025
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In the other match on the league’s opening night, the Washington Spirit held off the Houston Dash 2-1.—
Theo Lloyd-Hughes,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Standoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/standoff. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.
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