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
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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
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(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
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was preparingprogressive
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were preparingprogressive
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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:
Households should stock up on food to prepare for extreme weather as the strongest El Niño event in a generation develops over the Pacific Ocean, a government minister has warned.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The provisional pact was then fleshed out in a wider circle on Thursday, when a meeting among leading supervisory-board members was already scheduled to prepare for the wider meeting on Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
The comments come as investors prepare for the release of US non-farm payrolls figures later Friday, and the consumer price index next week -- which are seen as crucial to what the Fed announces.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Don’t miss: Tesla’s stock is rallying as investors prepare for a ‘storm of Cybercabs’
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
The muvuki returned to his house to prepare the medicine, and Uncle Kufa removed more gifts from the packs carried by the villagers.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
At a Hilton Hotel bar near Tokyo, bartender Shingo Miyachi prepares a negroni with one of Kuramoto Ice's big, clear cubes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Air Force officer turned business professor focused on disruption, Haynie says character and resilience will be central to Syracuse moving forward: “We want to be a school that prepares you for the world’s hard edges.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
His comments come as Portadown Orange Order prepares to apply for another Drumcree parade which would include the Garvaghy Road.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
For now, construction can continue while the administration prepares its petition asking the Supreme Court to hear the case.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
“The father prepares the way for his family,” he said.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
The move, combined with switching off any effort on their 2025 car so as to be as well prepared as possible for this year's new rules, vaulted them towards the head of the midfield.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The club were prepared finance the deal too.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Maryland reported in 2024 that only 44% of incoming children were “fully prepared to participate in the kindergarten curriculum.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
According to a marine accident expert report prepared for prosecutors, a copy of which was seen by AFP on Thursday, there were multiple breaches of safety procedures aboard the tanker.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 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
The government is due to unveil a strategy about preparing for national emergencies later this year.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
A Nigerian oil refinery owned by Africa's richest man is preparing an initial public offering expecting to raise $1.6 billion, the company said Friday, in what could be one of the country's biggest-ever stock launches.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Bass spokesperson Paige Sterling confirmed that the mayor had received the letter and is preparing a response.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Moonshot’s most recent fundraising round valued it at $50 billion, and it’s preparing to IPO on the Hong Kong exchange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
She swept the ground to prepare sleeping areas, hauled water from the stream, and began the long process of preparing food.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
