pretest

American  

[pree-test, pree-test] / ˈpriˌtɛst, priˈtɛst /

noun

1. an advance or preliminary testing or trial, as of a new product.

2. a test given to determine if students are sufficiently prepared to begin a new course of study.

3. a test taken for practice.

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verb (used with object)

1. to give a pretest to (a student, product, etc.).

verb (used without object)

1. to conduct a pretest.

   to pretest for consumer acceptance.

pretest British  

/ priːˈtɛst /

verb

1. to test (something) before presenting it to its intended public or client

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noun

1. the act or instance of pretesting

Etymology

Origin of pretest

First recorded in 1945–50; pre- + test ¹

Example Sentences

It did not require a pretest dose supervised by a physician as the previous studies did.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2024

The bees' response to the ambiguous stimulus depended on whether they received a treat before the test: those that got the pretest sugar approached the intermediate color faster than those that didn't.

From Scientific American • Jun. 16, 2023

“The public had the wrong impression about how much protection we were getting from the Safe Travels pretest program, and you can’t make good policy if you don’t have accurate information,” Altenberg said.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2021

You administer a pretest to a group of students at the beginning of the semester, and a posttest at the end of a year’s instruction using this textbook, and compare the results.

From Textbooks • Sep. 19, 2013

The first thing they did was take a vocabulary pretest to see how many of the thirty-five words for the week the kids already knew.

From "Frindle" by Andrew Clements