Preliminary
prɪˈlɪmɪnəri
Definitions
2 meaningsHappening before something else; introductory or preparatory.
prɪˈlɪmɪnəri
Coming before the main event
The coach made a preliminary assessment of the team's performance.
💡 Simply: Think of it like the warm-up act before a concert. It's the stuff that comes first to get you ready. For example, the preliminary games are played before the main tournament.
👶 For kids: Something that happens at the very beginning to get ready for the main thing.
More Examples
The agreement is subject to preliminary approval.
We need to conduct some preliminary investigations before proceeding.
How It's Used
"The company presented preliminary financial results before the full report."
"Scientists conduct preliminary research before starting a full-scale experiment."
"The judge made a preliminary ruling on the case."
An action or event that precedes or prepares for something more important.
prɪˈlɪmɪnəri
Something that comes before the main event
She won her race in the preliminaries.
💡 Simply: Think of it as the first round of a contest. It’s the part you have to go through before the real action starts. For instance, the preliminaries in a race.
👶 For kids: The first part of something, like a game, to get ready for the main part.
More Examples
The budget needs to go through several preliminaries before being approved.
The company discussed the preliminaries of the merger at the board meeting.
How It's Used
"The athlete qualified through the preliminaries."
"The political party held a preliminary meeting to discuss strategy."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Idioms & expressions
Preliminary to
As a preparation or introduction to.
"Preliminary to the meeting, we reviewed the documents."
Preliminary investigation
A first investigation to gather information
"The police conducted a preliminary investigation."
From Late Latin *praeliminaris* ('preliminary'), from *prae-* ('before') + *limen* ('threshold, entrance').
The word 'preliminary' has been used since the late 17th century to describe things that precede or come before a main event. It's evolved from Latin roots related to the threshold of an event.
Memory tip
Imagine a *pre* (*before*) *limin* (threshold) - it's before you cross the threshold of the main event.
Word Origin
"before"