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Synonyms

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.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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).

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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.

The harder reality is this: The sanctions architecture the U.S. spent decades building assumed financial isolation as a precondition for leverage.

From Barron's • Apr. 18, 2026

One precondition for a hike would be that the labor market would have to not only rebound but strengthen, Luzzetti noted.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

One really important form of social attention is so elemental to human life that it is the necessary precondition to survive.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2025

The process of abstraction it teaches is an essential precondition for the new science.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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.