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)

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

Etymology

Origin of precondition

First recorded in 1910–15; pre- + condition

Example Sentences

Regardless of any preconditions, that proportion remains quite close to the 66% probability that emerges from focusing on all calendar years over the past 129 years.

From MarketWatch

The first of these two preconditions was satisfied a couple of years ago, and then in 2024 the second precondition appeared to be close to doing so as well.

From MarketWatch

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Since taking office in June, Lee has vowed to "respect" North Korea's political system and pursue dialogue without preconditions, in a sharp break with the policies of his hawkish predecessor.

From Barron's

That sounded much more like the Midwest’s 7th Circuit decision in the Chicago case, which found that nothing in the statute “makes the President the sole judge of whether these preconditions exist.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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