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

Coenraads served as research director for seven years and demonstrated the first global reversal of symptoms in preclinical models in 2007. —Maggie McGrath, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025

Kagan notes that neuropsychiatric drugs have some of the highest failure rates in clinical trials, partly because existing preclinical models fail to capture actual brain cell function—how cells process real-time information. —IEEE Spectrum, 3 June 2025

For too long, women have been excluded from clinical trials, overlooked in preclinical research, and underserved by healthcare systems. —Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

According to Angle, the surgery marked the first step in confirming the safety of using the company’s BCI in humans after three years of preclinical testing with the same device. —Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 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