bereitstehen

Bereitstehen is a German verb meaning to be ready or to be on standby. It describes a state in which a person, group, or system is prepared to act on short notice.

Usage and contexts: The term is commonly used in professional and organizational settings such as emergency services, on-call work, the military, civil protection, and service industries. It can appear with phrases like bereitstehen für etwas (to be ready for something) or more generally as bereitstehen or zur Verfügung stehen (to be at one’s disposal).

Grammar and forms: Bereitstehen is a compound verb formed from bereit (ready) and stehen (to stand). In present tense one says er steht bereit or sie stehen bereit. In the simple past it can be er stand bereit or sie standen bereit. The perfect forms are typically hat bereitgestanden or ist bereitgestanden, depending on context, with haben as the common auxiliary for this stative usage.

Examples: Der Notdienst steht rund um die Uhr bereit. Die Einsatzkräfte stehen sofort bereit, wenn ein Alarm eingeht.

Etymology and related terms: Etymologically, bereit stems from the idea of being prepared, shared with bereit in compounds. Related concepts include Bereitschaft (readiness or standby) and zur Verfügung stehen (to be at one’s disposal), which express similar notions of availability and immediacy in German.