prepare

[pri-pair]

verb (used with object)

prepared, preparing 

1. to put in proper condition or readiness.

   to prepare a patient for surgery.

   Synonyms: order, arrange, provide
   Antonyms: disorganize

2. to get (a meal) ready for eating, as by proper assembling, cooking, etc.

3. to manufacture, compound, or compose.

   to prepare a cough syrup.

   Synonyms: make

4. Music.,  to lead up to (a discord, an embellishment, etc.) by some preliminary tone or tones.

verb (used without object)

prepared, preparing 

1. to put things or oneself in readiness; get ready.

   to prepare for war.

prepare

/ prɪˈpɛə /

verb

1. 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

2. to put together using parts or ingredients; compose or construct

3. (tr) to equip or outfit, as for an expedition

4. (tr) music to soften the impact of (a dissonant note) by the use of preparation

5. (foll by an infinitive) to be willing and able (to do something)

   I'm not prepared to reveal these figures

Other Word Forms

• preparer noun
• reprepare verb (used with object)
• unpreparing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prepare¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin praeparāre “to make ready beforehand,” equivalent to prae- pre- + parāre “to set, get ready” (akin to parent )

Word History and Origins

Origin of prepare¹

C15: from Latin praeparāre, from prae before + parāre to make ready

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

“If you are an alien who is currently a beneficiary of TPS for Haiti, you should prepare to depart if you have no other lawful basis for remaining in the United States,” the department said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I’m glad I learned this now, and not after I’d prepared three more meals for guests who wouldn’t show.

Read more on Salon

Journal cameras went inside the homes of LRU members to understand why regular Lithuanian citizens would take up arms and dedicate their free evenings and weekends to prepare for war.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Unfortunately, the same biological traits that cause autoimmune diabetes in these mice also make them harder to prepare safely for a blood stem cell transplant.

Read more on Science Daily

“Yet nurses prepared at these levels are essential to the workforce — as advanced practice nurses, faculty, researchers, and expert clinicians,” she said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arrange 
• assemble 
• brace 
• develop 
• draw up 
• equip 
• form 
• formulate 
• gird 
• make 
• plan 
• produce 
• provide 
• qualify 
• ready 
• strengthen 
• supply 
• train