stand by — be ready to help
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To be prepared to help or take action if needed.
Say it like a native
Textbook Our team remains in a state of readiness to assist you.
Native Our team is standing by to help.
'Stand by' is the natural way to say 'ready and waiting to act'.
Pattern: stand by (for/to do something)
In use
- The emergency team will stand by in case anything goes wrong.daily life
- In my opinion, it's important for doctors to stand by during big public events in case of accidents.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ We are standing by for help you.
✓ We're standing by to help you.
'Standing by TO + verb' — not 'for'.
Common collocations
stand by + readiness— to help, for instructions, by the phone, on standby
Don't confuse it
'Stand by' here is about being prepared, not about physically standing next to someone.
Related
- stand by (support someone) — Another meaning of 'stand by' is 'support someone'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.