prepare
Americanverb (used with object)
-
prepares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prepared,
past participle, past
-
preparing
present participle
-
to put in proper condition or readiness.
to prepare a patient for surgery.
- Antonyms:
- disorganize
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to get (a meal) ready for eating, as by proper assembling, cooking, etc.
-
to manufacture, compound, or compose.
to prepare a cough syrup.
- Synonyms:
- make
-
Music. to lead up to (a discord, an embellishment, etc.) by some preliminary tone or tones.
verb (used without object)
-
prepares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prepared,
past participle, past
-
preparing
present participle
verb
-
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
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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
-
(foll by an infinitive) to be willing and able (to do something)
I'm not prepared to reveal these figures
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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preparesimple
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preparessimple
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have preparedperfect
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has preparedperfect
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am preparingprogressive
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are preparingprogressive
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is preparingprogressive
-
have been preparingperfect progressive
-
has been preparingperfect progressive
Past
-
preparedsimple
-
had preparedperfect
-
was preparingprogressive
-
were preparingprogressive
-
had been preparingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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 )
Explanation
To prepare means to get ready for something. When you prepare for a test, you'll get a better score than if you don’t. Look at all the variations that you find with prepare. If you prepare yourself mentally for an experience, you sent you mind on it happening. If you're going to tell your family that you're moving out, you might want to prepare them by having them sit down. Are you prepared for their reaction? Are you prepared to defend your decision? You can prepare wood to be painted by cleaning and sanding it. And if you prepare dinner, you cook it.
Vocabulary lists containing prepare
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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.
See Examples For:
Some low-lying communities have been warned for years to prepare for rising sea levels, Ainsworth said, but have put off the inevitable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
They were first named to help bring public attention to episodes of severe weather, to help people prepare to avoid the worst impacts by planning ahead.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
If you have never read his work, prepare yourself for a serious undertaking—or perhaps start with something more manageable like “Perdido Street Station,” slightly less challenging at around 700 pages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Katie Zacharia had less than 24 hours to prepare for her inaugural briefing, as she juggled a cross-country move, and only received briefing materials this morning,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
His silence was nerve-racking, for no one knew whether to prepare for an explosion or a celebration.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
As Anthropic prepares to go public, Wall Street is grappling with the unprecedented question of how to price the risks associated with artificial-intelligence calamity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO—Anthropic’s revenue climbed 45% to $16.8 billion in the third quarter, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Claude maker prepares for a massive public debut as soon as next month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
As she prepares to mark a year since her husband's death, Akinyi is no closer to understanding why he died while paying his respects at an event organised by the government.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Nigeria's finance minister unveiled a raft of measures Thursday aimed at cushioning against energy shocks as the country prepares to go to the polls, including a petrol discount for public transport operators.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The leafy branches behind Ma start to wave and then snap as the creature prepares to spring from the shadows.
From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott
The weather authority said fire danger would remain through much of the day Saturday, warning residents to be prepared for emergency evacuations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
After numerous scandals under Moore, McDonnell was seen as offering stability while the city prepared for the massive security challenges of the World Cup and Olympic Games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Unlike personalized cell therapies, which must be prepared separately using each patient's own cells, such products could potentially be produced in larger batches and made available to multiple patients.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
It has prepared criminal legal proceedings against Infantino and lodged a claim in three US courts for all documents related to FFE to be released.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
“And second, why tell truth to those not yet prepared to receive it? The riddles ensure that we tell our secrets to those who have already learned how to think.”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Fielder is famous for excruciatingly awkward deadpan comedy, but Holmes’ parents are there, the family is preparing for an emotional goodbye and he seems to realize almost immediately that he has misjudged the situation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
They said ICE agents used a private parking lot when preparing to detain Oscar Belgal in Marble Hill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Authorities and demonstrators were preparing for possible violence.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
This approach could make it possible to manufacture large numbers of engineered immune cells from a starting population that can be continually expanded, instead of repeatedly collecting and preparing mature cells.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Maybe his parents were preparing some sort of surprise for him.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
