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on the alert

on the alert idiom

Watchful, fully prepared, as in The inspectors are always on the alert for a manufacturing error. [Late 1700s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Browse dictionary definitions near on the alert

on the air
on the air
on the (or a) rampage
on tenterhooks
on target
on tap
on sufferance
on strike
on standby
on speculation

on the average
on the ball, be
on the bandwagon, get
on the barrel
on the beam
on the bench
on the blink
on the block
on the brain
on the brief

on the alert

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