How to Use standoff in a Sentence

standoff

1 of 2 noun
Definition of standoffnext
Synonyms for standoffnext
  • The two governments are currently in a standoff over who has rights to the land.
  • The ads appear to be some of the first to mention the spending standoff.
    — Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 20 Sep. 2023
  • This led to a tense standoff that police had to defuse.
    — Parth M.n., WIRED, 23 Nov. 2023
  • The street was closed for several hours as the standoff went on.
    — John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2023
  • So, unless the DNC relents, the standoff will leave Biden in a bit of a pickle.
    — Steven Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2023
  • In the chaotic standoff, both sides saw a battle for the soul of Israel.
    — Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2023
  • So there were no awkward standoffs with him or anyone in the cast.
    — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
  • There’s no sign the two sides are getting close to resolving the standoff.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 8 Sep. 2023
  • The standoff ended with most of the mutinous players returning to the field.
    — Rachel Chaundler, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023
  • The last-minute snag created a tense standoff on the second day of what was meant to be a four-day cease-fire.
    — CBS News, 25 Nov. 2023
  • Those are the stakes in a standoff between the Teamsters union and UPS, a fight that remains tense as the strike deadline nears.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 July 2023
  • The gunman was found dead a short time later after a standoff with armed police.
    — Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 19 July 2023
  • Two major factors gave mortgage rates room to fall: the deal to resolve the debt ceiling standoff early in the month and the Fed’s rate hike pause in the middle of the month.
    — Holden Lewis, oregonlive, 6 July 2023
  • The standoff came up at the caucus lunch, Schumer told reporters, highlighting some of the same messaging.
    — Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner, 2 Mar. 2023
  • While the fight over the spreadsheet didn’t come up at the hearing, there was a long list of related document standoffs to hash out.
    — Marshall Cohen, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Here’s how ballooning debt and a standoff with the Teamsters union led to Yellow’s downfall.
    — Paul Berger, WSJ, 31 Oct. 2023
  • After a brief standoff, the 26-year-old man was taken into custody.
    — Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2023
  • After what Shaver described as a brief standoff, the suspect shot himself.
    — Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Mateen was killed after a three-hour standoff with SWAT team members.
    — Pilar Arias, Fox News, 19 Oct. 2023
  • Despite the standoff on the street, there was a happier ending on Monday in Chasiv Yar.
    — Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Some say the junior doctors are asking for too much in a standoff that is putting patients at risk during one of the busiest times of the year for hospitals.
    — Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Jan. 2024
  • And 75 officers in Pittsburgh were placed on leave after a standoff.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 25 Aug. 2023
  • Authorities did not release the names of either the man involved in the standoff, or of the woman he was suspected of killing.
    — Ray Chavez, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024
  • Jonathan Taylor's options in contract standoff That's why Taylor has flipped his axis on the Colts.
    — Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Aug. 2023
  • At the end of season 2, Euphoria left off with young Ashtray (Javon Walton) was gunned down in a standoff with police.
    — Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 6 Jan. 2024
  • But a protracted budget standoff has held that help hostage in Richmond.
    — Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 30 July 2023
  • Several blocks were shut down earlier in the day, and multiple schools in the area were placed on lockdown during the standoff.
    — Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024
  • The Gilmore incident comes eight days after deputies fired upon an armed standoff subject in Fair Oaks.
    — Daniel Hunt, Sacramento Bee, 23 Mar. 2024
  • There’s also a chance of this standoff spreading to other publishers this spring.
    — Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 2 Feb. 2024
  • Bloomberg There's been a standoff over office buildings, but that will probably change this year as investors try to pick up distressed real estate at low prices.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2024
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stand off

2 of 2 verb
  • But the three-month stand off is now believed to have come to an end.
    — SI.com, 5 Sep. 2017
  • Blake Leibel stood off to the side, watching in silence.
    — Scott Johnson, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2017
  • Throughout the clip, Kim never drops the weight as her trainer stands off to the side.
    — Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Belichick, who stood off to the left of the stage, shed his stoic look and smiled in this moment.
    — Nick Kelly, BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2019
  • Malik Newman stood off to the side, between the coaches' room and the door down the hallway.
    — Sam Mellinger, kansascity, 25 Mar. 2018
  • The grownups usually stand off to the side, holding shopping bags or the kids' shoes.
    — Arizona Republic, azcentral, 1 July 2019
  • Sharing your beliefs can stir the pot when the moon stands off with Mercury.
    — USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
  • Ryan Bundy stands off to the side of the media frenzy, with just a couple of reporters around him.
    — Leah Sottile, Longreads, 16 May 2018
  • He was left to stand to stand off to the side of the green as Zalatoris lined up a birdie putt from 14 feet that would have forced a playoff.
    — Steve Dimeglio, USA TODAY, 19 June 2022
  • Amy Mickelson, dressed in solid black like her husband, stood off the side of the pro shop porch.
    — Beth Ann Nichols, USA TODAY, 17 June 2018
  • After a small group gathered under the shelter, Horner stood off to the side and waited to sound taps for the 105th time this year.
    — Marc Lester, Alaska Dispatch News, 30 Sep. 2017
  • Male aides sometimes stand off to the side, holding the purse of a female lawmaker.
    — Chad Pergram | Fox News, Fox News, 6 Aug. 2022
  • The footage shows the female knock on the victim's apartment door while Cornist and Stone stand off to the side, officials said.
    — Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 5 Dec. 2021
  • One hunter in Delta told me a crane backed into a burn pile stood off his yellow lab and put the dog off of cranes and geese for the rest of her career.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 7 May 2018
  • Alexis stood off to the side, tears streaming down his face, watching his brother leave the field in a wheelchair.
    — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2023
  • Why were police standing off to the sides and behind the two opposing groups — and not in between them?
    — Ian Shapira, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2017
  • Keeping to himself in a corner of the ready room before the race, Dressel didn’t sit in the chair reserved for him, choosing to stand off to the side.
    — Alice Park/tokyo, Time, 31 July 2021
  • The Housewives, standing off to the side, weren’t safe: Merce was out of the purse — and speckled onto their dresses, their faces, their hair.
    — Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Afterward, once the cameras left, the coach stood off to the side, recounting the emotions of the previous day.
    — Chris Ballard, SI.com, 15 June 2019
  • After five batters, Kershaw was crumbling, standing off the mound with his hands on his knees and his stare fixed on the grass.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2023
  • These iconic, nostalgic images stand off to the sides, though.
    — oregonlive, 16 Sep. 2022
  • Gardner, who recently had both hips replaced, stood off to one side.
    — Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 25 May 2018
  • Wright's stand off with law enforcement from both Arizona and Nevada lasted for about an hour.
    — Richard Ruelas, azcentral, 1 June 2020
  • The Mocky Horror Picture Show’s bit is to stand off stage and provide running snarky commentary.
    — Tommy Cummings, Dallas News, 29 Aug. 2023
  • The sun standing off with Pluto keys you into potent self-awareness.
    — USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
  • Michael Xavier Johnson was killed by a robot carrying a bomb last night after a stand off with police.
    — Brendan Doris-Pierce, Esquire, 8 July 2016
  • At the bus stop, Urbanski stood off to the side and watched Collins talking with others for some time, prosecutors said.
    — Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2019
  • Harris drum-walked her way into a pre-convention rally, where Jesse Jackson stood off to the side of the stage, grinning like a proud uncle.
    — Bob Moser, The New Yorker, 26 June 2019
  • In 2018, one officer was killed and six more were injured in a two-hour stand off with a suspect who held children hostage in a South Carolina home.
    — Brieanna J. Frank, The Arizona Republic, 13 Feb. 2022
  • Videos on social media showed law enforcement standing off to the side during the fighting and shooting rubber bullets into the melee.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 8 May 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'standoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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