standby

Standby is waiting for a seat that somebody else does not take. Fly standby, on standby, a standby ticket.

At an airport it means waiting at the gate in the hope of a no-show, and standby fares were once far cheaper than booking. More broadly, on standby means ready to act if needed — emergency crews on standby. In electronics, standby is the low-power state a device sits in rather than switching off, and standby power across a house adds up to a real amount.

Also practised as

• nounReady and waiting to act at once.