preliminary
noun/prɪˈlɪmɪnəri/
/prɪˈlɪmɪneri/
(plural preliminaries)
- a preliminary is an action or event that is done in preparation for something
- I'll skip the usual preliminaries and come straight to the point.
- England was lucky to get through the preliminaries (= the preliminary stages in a sports competition).
- preliminary to (doing) something Research will be needed as a preliminary to taking a decision.
Extra Examples- The two presidents met today, as a preliminary to resuming the peace talks.
- After the usual preliminaries the meeting began.
- She began speaking intensely, without preliminaries.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- essential
- necessary
- usual
- …
- as a preliminary
- preliminary to
- without preliminaries
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from modern Latin praeliminaris or French préliminaire, from Latin prae ‘before’ + limen, limin- ‘threshold’.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
preliminary