preparation: Meaning and Definition of

prep•a•ra•tion

Pronunciation: (prep"u-rā'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. a proceeding, measure, or provision by which one prepares for something: preparations for a journey.
  2. any proceeding, experience, or the like considered as a mode of preparing for the future.
  3. an act of preparing.
  4. the state of being prepared.
  5. something prepared, manufactured, or compounded: a special preparation for sunbathers.
  6. a specimen, as an animal body, prepared for scientific examination, dissection, etc.
    1. the preparing of a dissonance, by introducing the dissonant tone as a consonant tone in the preceding chord.
    2. the tone so introduced.
  7. the day before the Sabbath or a feast day.
  8. work done by students in preparation for class; homework.
  9. the introductory prayers of the Mass or other divine service.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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