1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Preparatory actions are done before doing something else as a form of preparation or as an introduction. □ At least a year's preparatory work will be necessary before building can start.
2 PHRASE If one action is done preparatory to another, it is done before the other action, usually as preparation for it. [FORMAL ] □ [+ to ] Sloan cleared his throat preparatory to speaking.
pre|pa ra|tory school (preparatory schools ) N‑VAR A preparatory school is the same as a prep school . [BRIT ]
pre|pare ◆◆◇ /pr I peə r / (prepares , preparing , prepared )
1 VERB If you prepare something, you make it ready for something that is going to happen. □ [V n] The most important task was to prepare a list of missing items. □ [V n + for ] The crew of the Iowa has been preparing the ship for storage.
2 VERB If you prepare for an event or action that will happen soon, you get yourself ready for it or make the necessary arrangements. □ [V + for ] The Party leadership is using management consultants to help prepare for the next election. □ [V to-inf] He had to go back to his hotel and prepare to catch a train for New York. □ [V pron-refl + for ] His doctor had told him to prepare himself for surgery. [Also V ]
3 VERB When you prepare food, you get it ready to be eaten, for example by cooking it. □ [V n] She made her way to the kitchen, hoping to find someone preparing dinner. SYNONYMS prepare VERB
1
get ready: Tomorrow he would tell his pilot to get the aircraft ready.
equip: Owners of restaurants would have to equip them to admit people with disabilities.
draw up: They agreed to draw up a formal agreement.
put together: We got to work on putting the book together.
2
train: The U.S. was ready to train its troops to participate.
groom: George was already being groomed for the top job.
prime: Arnold primed her for her duties.
pre|pared ◆◆◇ /pr I peə r d/
1 ADJ If you are prepared to do something, you are willing to do it if necessary. □ Are you prepared to take industrial action?
2 ADJ If you are prepared for something that you think is going to happen, you are ready for it. □ [+ for ] Police are prepared for large numbers of demonstrators.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] You can describe something as prepared when it has been done or made beforehand, so that it is ready when it is needed. □ He ended his prepared statement by thanking the police.
pre|par|ed|ness /pr I peə r I dnəs/ N‑UNCOUNT Preparedness is the state of being ready for something to happen, especially for war or a disaster. [FORMAL ] □ The situation in the capital forced them to maintain military preparedness.
pre|pon|der|ance /pr I pɒ ndərəns/ N‑SING If there is a preponderance of one type of person or thing in a group, there is more of that type than of any other. □ [+ of ] …a preponderance of bright, middle-class children in one group. □ [+ of ] …Bath, with its preponderance of small businesses.
prepo|si|tion /pre pəz I ʃ ə n/ (prepositions ) N‑COUNT A preposition is a word such as 'by', 'for', 'into', or 'with' which usually has a noun group as its object. □ Tick all the sentences that contain a preposition.
prepo|si|tion|al phrase /pre pəz I ʃən ə l fre I z/ (prepositional phrases ) N‑COUNT A prepositional phrase is a structure consisting of a preposition and its object. Examples are 'on the table' and 'by the sea'.
pre|pos|ter|ous /pr I pɒ st ə rəs/ ADJ If you describe something as preposterous , you mean that it is extremely unreasonable and foolish. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The whole idea was preposterous. ● pre|pos|ter|ous|ly ADV [usu ADV adj/adv] □ Some prices are preposterously high.
prep|py /pre pi/ (preppies )
1 N‑COUNT Preppies are young people, especially in America, who have often been to an expensive private school and who are conventional and conservative in their attitudes, behaviour, and style of dress. [mainly AM ]
2 ADJ If you describe someone or their clothes, attitudes, or behaviour as preppy , you mean that they are like a preppy. [mainly AM ] □ I couldn't believe how straight-looking he was, how preppy. □ …a preppy collar and tie.
pre-prandial /priː præ ndiəl/ also preprandial ADJ [ADJ n] You use pre-prandial to refer to things you do or have before a meal. [FORMAL ] □ …pre-prandial drinks.
pre p school (prep schools )
1 N‑VAR [oft prep N ] In Britain, a prep school is a private school where children are educated until the age of 11 or 13.
2 N‑VAR In the United States, a prep school is a private school for students who intend to go to college after they leave.
pre|pu|bes|cent /priː pjuːbe s ə nt/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Prepubescent means relating to the time just before someone's body becomes physically mature. [FORMAL ] □ …prepubescent boys and girls.
pre|quel /priː kwəl/ (prequels ) N‑COUNT A prequel is a film that is made about an earlier stage of a story or a character's life when the later part of it has already been made into a successful film. □ [+ to ] Now Saul Goodman has his own television series, inevitably entitled Better Call Saul - a prequel to Breaking Bad.
Pre-Raphaelite /priː ræ fəla I t/ (Pre-Raphaelites )
1 N‑COUNT The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of British painters in the nineteenth century who painted mainly scenes from medieval history and old stories.