preclinical

adjective

pre·​clin·​i·​cal (ˌ)prē-ˈkli-ni-kəl 

1

: of, relating to, or concerned with the period preceding clinical manifestations

2

: of, relating to, or being the period in medical or dental education preceding the clinical study of medicine or dentistry

3

: occurring prior to clinical testing

a preclinical animal study of a new therapy

Examples of preclinical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Published in the journal Science, the preclinical research involved experiments on mice that were later confirmed with human cells. —Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2025

Possibilities include accelerating drug discovery, augmenting preclinical or clinical research, predicting potential product quality issues and optimizing testing protocols. —Aman Wasan, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025

According to a 2022 study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research, THCA has shown promise in preclinical studies for inflammation and neuroprotection. —Matt Rozo, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2025

Additionally, obesity and preclinical obesity, affecting nearly three-quarters of adults, are risk factors to developing heart disease. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for preclinical

• nonclinical
• rabbinical
• subclinical
• binnacle
• clinical
• cynical
• pinnacle

Medical Definition

preclinical

adjective

pre·​clin·​i·​cal (ˈ)prē-ˈklin-i-kəl 

1

a

: of, relating to, concerned with, or being the period preceding clinical manifestations

the preclinical stage of diabetes mellitus

b

: occurring prior to a clinical trial

preclinical animal testing to assess a drug's safety

2

: of, relating to, or being the period in medical or dental education preceding the clinical study of medicine or dentistry

the preclinical years

specifically : of or relating to the early period of prescribed medical or dental study devoted to the basic sciences (as anatomy, physiology, and pathology)

preclinical studies

3

: of, relating to, or being a science basic to medicine

research in the preclinical sciences