Meaning & use

stand-down

noun·Advanced

An order or period during which personnel are told to relax alert status or stop preparing for action.

See it in a sentence

After the false alarm, the fire crew received the stand-down and returned to the station.

The soldiers welcomed the stand-down after weeks of continuous patrols.

A note on using this word

Stand-down is mainly used in military, emergency-services, and workplace safety contexts to signal that a threat has passed.

Words with a similar meaning

This term is best learned through its definition and examples.

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “stand-down”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.