readies

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present of ready.

   The pilot readies the aircraft for departure.

   Each spring, the gardener readies the soil for new planting.

   Note

   The usual spelling rule for verbs ending in a consonant plus -y applies here: the y becomes ie before the -s, as in carries and tidies. The verb is transitive, so it takes an object, often followed by a for-phrase naming the purpose: she readies the room for guests. Keep it apart from the slang noun for cash, which comes from the same word but works as a noun.

2. 2
   nouncolloquialBritishplural

   Cash, especially in the form of bank notes.

   He paid for the whole lot in readies, no questions asked.

   I'm a bit short on readies until payday.

   Similarcash, money, dosh, dough

   Note

   A shortening of the phrase ready money. It takes the adjective's sense of something at hand for immediate use and turns it into a noun. It exists only in the plural, so there is no single "ready" to count. People say the readies or simply readies. Its ring is British and casual: natural in conversation, but out of place in a contract or a bank's correspondence.

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