prequalify
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
Other Word Forms
Explanation
To prequalify for something is to meet the early requirements ahead of time, before you need to use them. Someone who plans to buy a home should prequalify for a mortgage before they start seriously house hunting. This verb adds the prefix pre-, or "before," to qualify, "to be competent or adequate for a particular purpose," from Latin roots qualis, "of what sort?" and facere, "to make." It's often used to describe the process of borrowing money from a bank. If you prequalify for a loan, you'll know for sure how much you can afford to spend on a car before you head to the dealership.
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:
While they may operate within the same realm, rent-to-own companies and investors differ in how they prequalify customers, structure payments and negotiate purchases.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2020
“You could prequalify programs in a way that would ensure rigor and accountability,” he says.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2017
But this doesn’t suggest a return to the days of easy credit, when it seemed even house cats could prequalify for cards with $20,000 limits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2017
You do not have to prequalify for a mortgage.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 28, 2016
Bidders must prequalify to participate in the auction.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 28, 2015
The suit claims that out of the 11 prequalified vendors for the wall projects, U.S.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
Manufacturers in China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh also make cholera vaccines, but their products have not been prequalified by WHO.
From Science Magazine ● Feb. 27, 2024
The World Health Organization has prequalified two typhoid vaccines, but for policymakers to plan effective vaccination strategies, they need accurate, high-resolution estimates of where the burden is highest.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024
Merck's vaccine Ervebo was approved by the European regulator and prequalified by the World Health Organization in 2019.
From Reuters ● Dec. 14, 2022
The company says it is “continually improving maps with over-the-air updates identifying prequalified sections of divided highways where BlueCruise can be used.”
From The Verge ● Sep. 8, 2022
Let’s focus on before-entry training or prequalifying economically motivated immigrants for jobs chronically underfilled by U.S. citizens.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 1, 2023
New buyers should take the first step of prequalifying, Fowler says.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2022
You do not have to meet any prequalifying conditions to receive a test from the health department.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 3, 2020
But an agreement had been reached with the EPA prequalifying VW for public sector contracts, in exchange for a three-year monitoring process that is due to begin this autumn, the paper said, citing company sources.
From Reuters ● Sep. 2, 2019
He had to win six matches in prequalifying and qualifying tournaments to get into the main draw, and had not played a tour-level match until this tournament.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2016
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.
