readied, in a state of “maximum alert.”disguising price rises

Food Inflation Kept Hidden in Tinier Bags

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD and CATHERINE RAMPELL

In downturns, companies reduce the size of some products, disguising price rises and avoiding size comparisons on packages.

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Japan Tries to Stop Leak of Radioactive Water

By HIROKO TABUCHI 55 minutes ago

Workers piled sandbags and readied emergency storage tanks on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Naoto Kan said his government was in a state of “maximum alert.”

ready

(rĕd'ē)
adj., -i·er, -i·est.

1. Prepared or available for service, action, or progress: I am ready to work. The soup will be ready in a minute. The pupils are ready to learn to read.
2. Mentally disposed; willing: He was ready to believe her.
3. Likely or about to do something: She is ready to retire.
4. Prompt in apprehending or reacting: a ready intelligence; a ready response.
5. Available: ready money.

tr.v., read·ied, read·y·ing, read·ies.
To cause to be ready.

idioms:

at the ready

1. Available for immediate use: soldiers with machine guns at the ready; students with notebooks at the ready.

make ready

1. To make preparations.

[Middle English redy, from Old English rǣde.]

readiness read'i·ness n.