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prepare

[ pri-pair ]
/ prɪˈpɛər /
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See synonyms for: prepare / prepared / preparing on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), pre·pared, pre·par·ing.
to put in proper condition or readiness: to prepare a patient for surgery.
to get (a meal) ready for eating, as by proper assembling, cooking, etc.
to manufacture, compound, or compose: to prepare a cough syrup.
Music. to lead up to (a discord, an embellishment, etc.) by some preliminary tone or tones.
verb (used without object), pre·pared, pre·par·ing.
to put things or oneself in readiness; get ready: to prepare for war.
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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)

synonym study for prepare

1. 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 WORDS FROM prepare

pre·par·er, nounre·pre·pare, verb (used with object), re·pre·pared, re·pre·par·ing.un·pre·par·ing, adjective

Words nearby prepare

preparation, preparative, preparator, preparatory, preparatory school, prepare, prepared, preparedness, prepared piano, preparental, preparer
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to prepare

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

How to use prepare in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for prepare

prepare
/ (prɪˈpɛə) /
verb
to make ready or suitable in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etcto prepare a meal; to prepare to go
to put together using parts or ingredients; compose or construct
(tr) to equip or outfit, as for an expedition
(tr) music to soften the impact of (a dissonant note) by the use of preparation
be prepared (foll by an infinitive) to be willing and able (to do something)I'm not prepared to reveal these figures

Derived forms of prepare

preparer, noun

Word Origin for prepare

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