prepare
Americanverb (used with object)
-
prepares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prepared,
past participle, past
-
preparing
present participle
-
to put in proper condition or readiness.
to prepare a patient for surgery.
- Antonyms:
- disorganize
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to get (a meal) ready for eating, as by proper assembling, cooking, etc.
-
to manufacture, compound, or compose.
to prepare a cough syrup.
- Synonyms:
- make
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Music. to lead up to (a discord, an embellishment, etc.) by some preliminary tone or tones.
verb (used without object)
-
prepares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prepared,
past participle, past
-
preparing
present participle
verb
-
to make ready or suitable in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
to prepare a meal
to prepare to go
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to put together using parts or ingredients; compose or construct
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(tr) to equip or outfit, as for an expedition
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(tr) music to soften the impact of (a dissonant note) by the use of preparation
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(foll by an infinitive) to be willing and able (to do something)
I'm not prepared to reveal these figures
Synonym Usage
Prepare, contrive, devise imply planning for and making ready for something expected or thought possible. To prepare is to make ready beforehand for some approaching event, need, and the like: to prepare a room, a speech. Contrive and devise emphasize the exercise of ingenuity and inventiveness. The first word suggests a shrewdness that borders on trickery, but this is absent from devise : to contrive a means of escape; to devise a time-saving method.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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preparesimple
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preparessimple
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have preparedperfect
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has preparedperfect
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am preparingprogressive
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are preparingprogressive
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is preparingprogressive
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have been preparingperfect progressive
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has been preparingperfect progressive
Past
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preparedsimple
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had preparedperfect
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was preparingprogressive
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were preparingprogressive
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had been preparingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prepare
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin praeparāre “to make ready beforehand,” equivalent to prae- pre- + parāre “to set, get ready” (akin to parent )
Explanation
To prepare means to get ready for something. When you prepare for a test, you'll get a better score than if you don’t. Look at all the variations that you find with prepare. If you prepare yourself mentally for an experience, you sent you mind on it happening. If you're going to tell your family that you're moving out, you might want to prepare them by having them sit down. Are you prepared for their reaction? Are you prepared to defend your decision? You can prepare wood to be painted by cleaning and sanding it. And if you prepare dinner, you cook it.
Vocabulary lists containing prepare
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He said he would seek to leverage tax dollars to help communities better prepare for wildfires, creating buffers and hardening structures because of wildfires that will inevitably occur in certain communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
This in turn could better prepare future crewed missions to the Moon, which are currently planned by both the United States and China.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Food aromas may prepare the digestive system for an upcoming meal or produce psychological and physiological changes as the body anticipates eating.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
After a 2022 truce, the Houthis continued to prepare, recruit and mobilize militarily and ideologically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
All my efforts to prepare for Teeth’s news of my family have gotten me a mere snout’s length out of the cave’s mouth.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
As Meta prepares to release new wearables, privacy fears surrounding its artificial intelligence glasses have triggered fresh lawsuits against the social media giant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Paying for the UK's growing defence commitments is one of Healey's biggest headaches as he prepares for the Budget in October and next year's spending review.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Associated British Foods said it expects the adjusted operating loss for its sugar unit to deepen next fiscal year, as it prepares to spin off its retail arm housing fashion brand Primark.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Coxon's resignation comes as Anthropic prepares for its market debut, following a summer marked by unauthorized hacks carried out by AI tools during testing.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
This day Mother prepares an altar to chant for his return, offering fruit, incense, tuberoses, and glutinous rice.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
The gap makes a durable dialogue—the kind that might keep the competition from spiraling into a crisis neither government is prepared to manage—a tall order.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
None of it, though, had fully prepared me for what Candle House’s “The Pineapple” actually was.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
After 80 years without war on our own soil, are we, as a society, psychologically prepared for it?
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
"So no, I don't think we are psychologically prepared… but I do think that we are beginning to recognise that war is something that is closer to us than we'd like to think".
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Madame Ionesco seemed far better prepared for this adventure than Penelope was.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Unlike 2018, when O’Rourke’s rise caught some off guard, the party has been preparing for Talarico since the spring.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Buffett has been preparing Howie, the second of his three children, to take over as chairman for some time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The EU has been simultaneously preparing to roll out an age-check app that would ensure children below the age thresholds cannot access social media.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Nine out of 10 people who request a restraining order do not have a lawyer to help them through the process of preparing for a hearing, according to court data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Many European leaders worried that Hitler was preparing Germany’s young people for war.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
