How to Use standoff in a Sentence

standoff

1 of 2 noun
  • The two governments are currently in a standoff over who has rights to the land.
  • Maybe that’s what makes this such a standoff.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 11 May 2026
  • But no one has been able to end the standoff.
    — Simon Shuster, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
  • So what did Democrats get out of this standoff?
    — CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Unions and airlines have urged a quick end to the standoff.
    — Zach Wichter, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Unions and airlines have urged a quick end to the standoff.
    — David Shepardson, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
  • That doesn't mean the budget standoff is over.
    — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026
  • There's a little bit of a standoff.
    — CBS News, 28 June 2026
  • This standoff is a long time coming!
    — Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
  • But in the meantime, there's a standoff.
    — CBS News, 28 June 2026
  • But, in the meantime, there's a standoff.
    — CBS News, 28 June 2026
  • So there were no awkward standoffs with him or anyone in the cast.
    — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
  • The street was closed for several hours as the standoff went on.
    — John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2023
  • About two hours into the standoff, a girl was released and left the house.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2026
  • For now, the lines have been drawn for what could be lingering standoff.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Yeah, well, Margaret, the standoff is not done yet, right?
    — CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Yes, well, Margaret, the standoff is not done yet, right?
    — CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Neighbors were urged to stay put during the standoff.
    — CBS News, 15 Dec. 2025
  • So isn't there a good argument to be made to move on this standoff, to end it?
    — CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
  • So, isn't there a good argument to be made to move on this standoff, to end it?
    — CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
  • What does the standoff mean for interest rates?
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Such a standoff would be largely untested.
    — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
  • The ads appear to be some of the first to mention the spending standoff.
    — Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 20 Sep. 2023
  • The standoff is entirely about regime change.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Leaders of the two parties sought to blame the other side for the standoff.
    — Kevin Freking, Twin Cities, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Police say Pop live-streamed from the crime scene during the standoff.
    — Heath Kalb, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025
  • The standoff prompted one of the largest oil shocks ever recorded.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 12 May 2026
  • The standoff triggered one of the largest oil shocks ever recorded.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 10 June 2026
  • The standoff triggered one of the largest oil shocks ever recorded.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 28 May 2026
  • The standoff triggered one of the largest oil shocks ever recorded.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 2 July 2026

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
  • Their family dog stands off to the side.
    — Christina Perrier, InStyle, 5 Jan. 2026
  • But a toxic stand off between club and player took its toll.
    — Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
  • 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
  • Slater came out of the facility and stood off to the side of the practice fields.
    — Daniel Popper, The Athletic, 27 July 2024
  • Hidden desires come into the light when the sun stands off with Uranus.
    — USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024
  • Sharing your beliefs can stir the pot when the moon stands off with Mercury.
    — USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
  • Gardner, who recently had both hips replaced, stood off to one side.
    — Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 25 May 2018
  • Michael Massey stood off to the side during batting practice.
    — Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2025
  • The grownups usually stand off to the side, holding shopping bags or the kids' shoes.
    — Arizona Republic, azcentral, 1 July 2019
  • Throughout the clip, Kim never drops the weight as her trainer stands off to the side.
    — Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 5 Jan. 2024
  • These iconic, nostalgic images stand off to the sides, though.
    — oregonlive, 16 Sep. 2022
  • In the photos, the father-son duo stand off camera and chat with one another.
    — Emma Aerin Becker, Peoplemag, 4 Sep. 2024
  • Male aides sometimes stand off to the side, holding the purse of a female lawmaker.
    — Chad Pergram | Fox News, Fox News, 6 Aug. 2022
  • Tidy up loose finances while Mercury stands off with Neptune.
    — USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024
  • Carlo’s shrine stood off to the side, the reliquary protected behind a screen.
    — Emily Harnett, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
  • 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
  • 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
  • About 30 of them on hand for the milestone stood off in the distance, whooping and cheering.
    — Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2024
  • 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
  • Protesting is standing off to the side and not interfering.
    — Frank Langfitt, NPR, 29 Jan. 2026
  • 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
  • Eckard and Anderson were then seen walking away from the podium and standing off to the side.
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2025
  • Malik Newman stood off to the side, between the coaches' room and the door down the hallway.
    — Sam Mellinger, kansascity, 25 Mar. 2018
  • The sun standing off with Pluto keys you into potent self-awareness.
    — USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
  • After five batters, Kershaw was crumbling, standing off the mound with his hands on his knees and his stare fixed on the grass.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2023
  • Comparison can be a slippery slope as the moon stands off with Chiron.
    — Usa Today, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Wright's stand off with law enforcement from both Arizona and Nevada lasted for about an hour.
    — Richard Ruelas, azcentral, 1 June 2020
  • 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
  • Initially, much of the team’s support staff, many of whom have been with the Patriots for more than a decade, stood off to the side.
    — Chad Graff, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026

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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