stand down

Verb

stand down (third-person singular simple present stands down, present participle standing down, simple past and past participle stood down)

1. (idiomatic) To wait; to stop pursuing, stop fighting, or relax from a heightened readiness posture.
   • They ordered the troops to stand down for the moment.

   Antonyms:

   square off, square up

2. (ambitransitive) To withdraw or retire from a position or from a team.
   • The criminal case was launched after the aviation giant’s subsidiary stood down a trained health and safety representative hours after he directed others to cease work.2023 November 16, “Qantas illegally stood down worker who stopped cleaning of planes at start of Covid pandemic”, in The Guardian, sourced from Australian Assocated Press, →ISSN
   • The remaining four locomotives in traffic […] are all expected to be stood down due to their high engine hours, as well as being due exams which the company is not prepared to undertake.2023 November 29, “Last remaining DB Cargo Class 60s face final workings in December”, in RAIL, number 997, page 19

   Synonyms:

   resign, stand aside, step down