precondition

American  

[pree-kuhn-dish-uhn] / ˌpri kənˈdɪʃ ən /

noun

1. something that must come before or is necessary to a subsequent result; condition.

   a precondition for a promotion.

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verb (used with object)

preconditions, present (3rd person singular) preconditioned, past participle, past preconditioning present participle

1. to subject (a person or thing) to a special treatment in preparation for a subsequent experience, process, test, etc..

   to precondition a surface to receive paint.

precondition British  

/ ˌpriːkənˈdɪʃən /

noun

1. a necessary or required condition; prerequisite

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verb

1. (tr) psychol to present successively two stimuli to (an organism) without reinforcement so that they become associated; if a response is then conditioned to the second stimulus on its own, the same response will be evoked by the first stimulus

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• preconditioning
  present
• preconditioned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• precondition
  simple
• preconditions
  simple
• have preconditioned
  perfect
• has preconditioned
  perfect
• am preconditioning
  progressive
• are preconditioning
  progressive
• is preconditioning
  progressive
• have been preconditioning
  perfect progressive
• has been preconditioning
  perfect progressive

Past

• preconditioned
  simple
• had preconditioned
  perfect
• was preconditioning
  progressive
• were preconditioning
  progressive
• had been preconditioning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will precondition
  simple
• will have preconditioned
  perfect
• will be preconditioning
  progressive
• will have been preconditioning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of precondition

First recorded in 1910–15; pre- + condition

Explanation

A precondition is a prerequisite. It’s the thing that has to happen before something else happens. For example, as a precondition to getting your allowance, you might have to give the dog a hairdo once a week. Precondition is often used in the negative – when world leaders meet to discuss something, they might ask for no preconditions. Clean slate. On the other hand, good grades are sometimes a precondition for joining the school basketball team. Applying for a new job can be frustrating when you realize that experience is a precondition, but you're not sure how to get the experience without getting a job. When it's a verb, precondition means to prepare something (or someone).

Example Sentences

He is demanding that countries in the Middle East sign the Abraham Accords, potentially as a precondition External link to a deal to end the war.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

But Iranian officials reiterated Tuesday that unfreezing the country’s overseas assets remains a precondition for continued negotiations.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

“A lower cost of capital as rates comes down can help provide some extra juice, but that is not a precondition for markets to go higher,” Helfstein said.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 25, 2026

“It’s a precondition for all the copper projects.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

One precondition for this, of course, was that, like Tartaglia, like Benedetti, like Norman, and like Barozzi’s translator on his behalf, they made no secret of their discoveries.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• arrangement
• essential
• necessity
• prerequisite
• provision
• qualification
• requirement
• requisite
• stipulation