1Readiness for duty or immediate deployment.

1. 1.1count noun A person or thing ready to be deployed immediately, especially if needed as backup in an emergency.
   a generator was kept as a standby in case of power failure

   as modifier a standby rescue vessel

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Producers can fall into the same reasoning, so standbys and understudies rarely get the job when a star needs to be replaced long-term.
   • Athens Olympics organisers took the extraordinary step early yesterday of training a standby athlete to light the Olympic flame.
   • Soup is a great standby, and we Scots are the best soup-makers of all.
   • And atop the van were five bicycles, kept as a standby in case of the breakdown of any cycle during the course of the rally.
   • Is the carbon dioxide produced by all those standby power stations accounted for in their statistics?
   • They have a standby generator and five solar panels.
   • Although you can buy a commercial version of Jenny's ginger, shallot and chilli sauce, she says it is easy to make and is a wonderful standby to have in the fridge.
   • In all football championship matches the referee must have his own umpires and official linesmen and a standby referee are also appointed.
   • Only twelve players are selected along with three reserves and three standbys.
   • There are nearly 100 people on night shift as standby in case of emergencies.
   • To ensure emergency electricity supplies, standby generators are being provided for pumping and ventilation.
   • Permanent standby generators with automatic operation generally cost between $2,200 and $10,000.
   • It was also reported last week that hospital bosses knew the standby air conditioning unit had been faulty for five years, but did not have the money to repair it.
   • The tugboat is truly multi purpose, as it can lead oil tankers into port, repair petroleum pipes in the sea and act as a standby rescue boat.
   • It was not surprising that a standby system was always in place.
   • Thank goodness it was only ever a standby facility, and that today it lies rotting and abandoned.
   • A standby crew of 15 fully trained nurses work lull time at The Pas Hospital and are on call 24 hours.
   • BT are also investigating ways to exploit the stocks of fuel set aside to operate the exchange standby power generators.
   • In most cases, the second server is a standby server - ready to take over if the first server fails.
   • Stored rainwater also is a good standby in times of emergencies such as power outages or during periods of extreme drought when wells dry up.
   • Third, escape routes should be fitted with standby power and smoke - protection devices, and proper evacuation procedures should be planned.
   • Hospitals must have standby power, because building codes and accreditation organizations require it.

   Synonyms

   alternative, substitute, replacement, spare, extra, standby, auxiliary, reserve, backup, fill-in, fallback, in reserve
2. 1.2 An operational mode of an electrical appliance in which the power is switched on but the appliance is not actually functioning.
   switch off the TV at night instead of leaving it on standby

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Laser printers are energy hogs, both during active use and in standby mode.
   • Around £88m is wasted by leaving TVs on standby.
   • Microsoft is hoping the devices will have a 100 to 120 hours standby time.
   • Normally you should only receive the message that the computer cannot go into standby mode if the camera is attached to the computer.
   • It serves as a timely reminder, though, that I am very bad at leaving appliances - computer, CD players - on, or TV on standby, overnight or when I'm out.
   • Having your appliances like TVs and computers on standby power uses 11% of all Australian residential electricity.
   • A new chip promises to significantly reduce the power consumption of numerous consumer products and portable computing devices operating in standby mode.
   • We're looking at some sort of device which could provide the energy for household goods instead of them running off the mains when they are on standby.
   • There's an entirely sensible campaign now in the UK to encourage people to switch off appliances left on standby, saving both greenhouse gas emissions and money.
   • Main standby offenders in Irish homes are TVs, video recorders, DVDs, video games, satellite decoders, stereo systems, PCs and microwave ovens.
   • Electrical goods and appliances left on standby contribute to more than €30m in wasted energy state-wide so its best to turn them off when not in use.
   • Your TV and video can use as much electricity on standby as they do switched on, so unplug them at night.
   • Batteries will usually last at least 100 hours on standby and give around two hours talktime, but batteries that last for up to 15 days on standby and give ten hours talktime are available.
   • America's televisions draw enough standby power each year to light 5 million homes.
   • The rechargeable battery promises 200 minutes of talk time and 100 hours stand-by time.
   • One nuclear power station is needed to feed the millions of electrical appliances left in standby mode around the UK every day.
   • The standby function on electrical appliances is responsible for an estimated six per cent of the UK's domestic electricity consumption.
   • There can be a problem with televisions left on standby as the current has nowhere to go.
   • Leakage current measurements are performed with the product energized and in all conditions, such as standby and full operation.
   • The most popular ways of saving energy are often the most simple, such as turning off lights, not leaving the TV on standby, and encouraging their parents to fit energy-saving lightbulbs.
3. 1.3as modifier Denoting an economic or financial measure prepared for implementation in specified circumstances.
   a standby credit facility

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It gave the country $1.4 billion in standby credit during the crisis.
   • The Executive Board also approved the second review of Bulgaria's economic performance under the standby credit.
   • They refused the country a further $1.3bn in standby loans, unless it balanced its budget for the year 2002.
   • The board took the decision after completing the fourth review of Bulgaria's economic performance under the standby agreement.
   • But it was so heavily in debt by 2001 that it couldn't post standby letters of credit against customers' deposits on the ovens they were buying.

   Synonyms

   temporary, make-do, provisional, stopgap, standby, rough and ready, substitute, emergency, improvised, ad hoc, impromptu, extemporary, extempore, thrown together, cobbled together

2The state of waiting to secure an unreserved place for a journey or performance, allocated on the basis of earliest availability.

1. 2.1count noun A person waiting to secure an unreserved place for a journey or performance.
   standbys are allowed to board when all the passengers with confirmed reservations are seated

   Example sentencesExamples

   • When they called the flight, to my relief I was one of the standbys who made it aboard.
   • New airport rules don't make this easy, but it turns out that if someone ahead of you on the standby list gets on the plane but decides against it, that's permitted.
   • The gate attendant announced that they were no longer accepting standbys, because they already had 50, and the flight was sold out.
   • It comes with the territory when you are a standby passenger that sometimes you just don't get on the plane.
   • So I camped out and waited for the standbys to get called.
   • I got on the flight even though there were a bunch of standbys milling around the ticket counter.
   • I see a line at the counter - standbys waiting to take my seat no doubt.

   Synonyms

   substitute, replacement, reserve, representative, deputy, surrogate, lieutenant, second, second string, proxy, understudy, double, locum, supply, fill-in, cover, relief, stopgap