pretreat

American  

[pree-treet] / priˈtrit /

verb (used with object)

1. to treat in advance or as part of a preliminary treatment.

   to pretreat wood before staining it.

---

Other Word Forms

• pretreatment noun

Etymology

Origin of pretreat

First recorded in 1930–35; pre- + treat

Example Sentences

“Unless they have another source of irrigation water, or a way to pretreat irrigation water, it doesn’t look too good.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 28, 2023

The storm starting with rain made it impossible to pretreat roads before chillier temperatures turned droplets into sleet, then snow, Marsden said.

From Washington Post • Jan. 4, 2022

Because the storm began with rain, crews could not pretreat the roads because the salt or chemicals would have washed away, officials said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 4, 2022

Zhang says could be used to pretreat seawater in desalination plants, with the table salt removed via conventional methods, such as reverse osmosis.

From Nature • May 2, 2018

"At some point I think you will see plants that are much easier to pretreat," he said.

From Scientific American • Aug. 16, 2013