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prep

1 of 3

noun

1
2
3
: a preliminary trial for a racehorse

prep

2 of 3

verb

prepped; prepping

intransitive verb

1
: to attend preparatory school
2
[short for prepare] : to get ready

transitive verb

: prepare
especially : to prepare for an operation or examination
nurses prepped the patient

PrEP

3 of 3

abbreviation

pre-exposure prophylaxis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that PrEP, when used consistently, can reduce the risk of H.I.V. infection by up to 92 percent.Ginia Bellafante

Synonyms of prep

Examples of prep in a Sentence

Noun Painting a room involves a lot of prep. Verb She spent all night prepping for the test. The runners are prepping themselves for the race. It took me about 20 minutes to prep the vegetables.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
To make meal prep a breeze, don’t miss the Luminex vegetable chopper that comes with four blade options. Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025 What To Know Photos released by Archewell showed Archie and Lilibet wearing matching OBKLA hats, rolling dough on a prep table alongside their parents in a moment of public family charity. Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
Verb
The smartest hosts are the ones who prep early, and keep a Yelp pro’s number at the ready. MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025 Best Early Black Friday Wayfair Outlet Furniture Deals If hosting and spending time at home is on the calendar this season, prep your spaces with new furniture pieces that add functionality and warmth. Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for prep

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1909, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of prep was in 1862

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prep. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.

Medical Definition

prep

1 of 3 noun
: the act or an instance of preparing a patient for a surgical operation
the nurse had three preps to do

prep

2 of 3 transitive verb
prepped; prepping
: to prepare for a surgical operation or examination
prep the patient for an appendectomy

PrEP

3 of 3 abbreviation
pre-exposure prophylaxis
The introduction of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has shown significant promise in reducing the rate of HIV incidence. … Although nearly 1.2 million people could benefit from PrEP, AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) estimates that ~130,000–135,000 individuals were actively on PrEP in late 2019—meaning <15% of individuals in need of PrEP had a current prescription.Benedikt Pleuhs et al., AIDS Patient Care and STDs

More from Merriam-Webster on prep

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