stand off1
1Move or keep away: the women stood off at a slight distance...
- Unbeknownst to everyone else, a man in an impeccable suit stood off in the shadows, not moving a muscle.
- During this process, the safety observer stood off to the side.
- Jessica and I stood off to the side, eager to get under way.
2 Nautical Sail further away from the shore: the ship was standing off on the landward side...
- Recognizing it to be a naval auxiliary, the Shackleton stood off.
- Before that time steamers often had to stand off in busy times until it was their turn to be unloaded.
- The boat edged in, standing off sufficiently to avoid boats, people and rocks.
See parent entry: stand
stand-off2
/ˈstandɒf
/noun
1A deadlock between two equally matched opponents in a dispute or conflict: the 16-day-old stand-off was no closer to being resolved...
- It used to be political and military stand-offs over big issues that caused crises in Northern Ireland.
- His young administration faces fierce and conflicting political pressures on how he handles the stand-off.
- The Cold War nuclear stand-off did much to sharpen Kubrick's awareness of global politics.
Synonyms
deadlock, stalemate, impasse, standstill, dead end, draw, tie, dead heat
2 Rugby short for stand-off half.Storm, lacking their first-choice stand-off, scrum-half and hooker, struggled to fire....
- Whether he plays at stand-off or loose forward does not really matter.
- We've a great stand-off in Danny McGuire and a great full back in Richie Mathers.