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nounnoun

der Bereitschaftsdienst, -e

on-call service

Definition & meaning

Bereitschaftsdienst is a German masculine noun meaning on-call duty, standby duty, or a service provided outside regular working hours.

It has two closely related meanings:

  1. Work duty during which a person must remain ready to work when needed
    The employee may be at the workplace or at a designated location and must respond immediately if called.

  2. A service available outside normal opening hours, especially in healthcare
    For example, the Ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst provides medical assistance when ordinary doctors’ offices are closed, but the situation is not an emergency.

Grammar & Word origin

  • Gender: masculine
  • Article: der
  • Plural: die Bereitschaftsdienste
  • Compound: Bereitschaft + Dienst

Bereitschaft means readiness or willingness to act, while Dienst means duty, service, or work performed as part of one’s job. Literally, Bereitschaftsdienst means “readiness duty.”

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

  • On-call duty: Rufbereitschaft — a form of availability in which the person usually stays at home or elsewhere and only goes to work if called. This differs from Bereitschaftsdienst, where the person is generally required to be at a designated place and ready to work immediately.
  • Standby duty: Bereitschaft — a broader term for being ready to act; it does not necessarily refer to a formal work shift.
  • Emergency service: Notdienst — a service operating during emergencies or outside normal hours. It emphasizes the emergency or out-of-hours function rather than the employee’s duty status.

Antonyms

There is no exact direct antonym. Depending on the context, possible contrasts include:

  • Regelarbeitszeit — regular working hours, as opposed to duty outside normal working hours.
  • Freizeit — free time, when a person has no work obligations.

Common phrases & collocations

  • Bereitschaftsdienst leisten — to perform on-call duty
  • Bereitschaftsdienst haben — to be on call
  • ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst — out-of-hours medical service
  • telefonischer Bereitschaftsdienst — telephone standby service
  • zum Bereitschaftsdienst eingeteilt sein — to be assigned to on-call duty

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Examples

Der Bereitschaftsdienst beginnt um acht Uhr.noun

The on-call service begins at eight o'clock.

Nachts hilft der Bereitschaftsdienst bei Notfällen.noun

At night, the on-call service helps in emergencies.

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