preliminary

play

noun pre·lim·i·nary \ pri-ˈli-mə-ˌner-ē \

Definition of preliminary

plural preliminaries

:something that precedes or is introductory or preparatory: such as

a :a preliminary scholastic examination

b preliminaries plural, British :front matter

c :a preliminary heat or trial (as of a race)

d :a minor match preceding the main event (as of a boxing card)

See preliminary defined for English-language learners

See preliminary defined for kids

Examples of preliminary in a Sentence

a meeting to discuss seating arrangements that was merely a preliminary to the formal negotiating sessions

Recent Examples of preliminary from the Web

At the NCAAs, Pearce broke the GNAC record in the preliminaries with her 54.82-second run and slashed it to 54.20 in the finals to finish fifth and seize All-America honors.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Seawolf Hall of Fame adds hockey scorer Glencross, sprinter Pearce and super-supporter Olson," 23 Aug. 2017
Britain’s Adam Peaty set a world record of 26.10 seconds in the preliminaries of the men’s 50-meter breaststroke at the world championships on Tuesday.

— ciaran fahey, The Seattle Times, "Peaty breaks 50 breast record; Ledecky sets up big night," 25 July 2017
Britain's Adam Peaty set a world record of 26.10 seconds in the preliminaries of the men's 50-meter breaststroke at the world championships on Tuesday.

— Bloomberg.com, "Peaty Breaks 50 Breast Record; Ledecky Sets Up Big Night," 25 July 2017
Because Nolan doesn't waste any time on preliminaries, Yanks who are a little fuzzy on the historical details might be motivated to actually go crack open a book.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Dunkirk:' Christopher Nolan triumphs with World War II epic," 19 July 2017
Other than their performance, the pianists’ biggest interaction with the public is at the announcement of which competitors will advance to the three rounds after the preliminaries.

— star-telegram, star-telegram.com, "Keyed Up: Behind the curtains of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition," 5 July 2017
Prior to the preliminaries, the participants had been judged in scholastics and in an interview, which comprised 50 percent of their total score.

— michelle matthews, AL.com, "Skye Bork of District of Columbia named Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2017," 1 July 2017
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana swimmers Blake Pieroni and Veronica Burchill put themselves in position to make the world team in 100-meter freestyle preliminaries today at the Phillips 66 National Championships.

— david woods, Indianapolis Star, "IU's Blake Pieroni, Carmel's Veronica Burchill have shot at world team," 27 June 2017
That’s what McConnell is doing now, having skipped the preliminaries.

— glenn kessler, Washington Post, "History Lesson: How the Democrats pushed Obamacare through the Senate," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'preliminary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of preliminary

French préliminaires, plural, from Medieval Latin praeliminaris, adjective, preliminary, from Latin prae- pre- + limin-, limen threshold

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First Known Use: 1656

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preliminary Synonyms

Synonyms

curtain-raiser, overture, preamble, prelude, prologue (also prolog), warm-up

Related Words

countdown, run-up [chiefly British]; lead-in; kickoff, start

preliminary

adjective

Definition of preliminary

:coming before and usually forming a necessary prelude to something else

preliminary studies

preliminary results

—

preliminarily

play \-ˌli-mə-ˈner-ə-lē\ adverb

See preliminary defined for English-language learners

Examples of preliminary in a Sentence

Preliminary findings show that the drug could help patients with skin cancer.
The team was eliminated in the preliminary round of the tournament.
research that is preliminary to the study

Recent Examples of preliminary from the Web

The preliminary version of the purchasing managers’ index from the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics rose to 51.7 from July’s 51.4 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity expanding.

— Washington Post, "Global stocks mixed after China factory, Wall Street gains," 31 Aug. 2017
But preliminary estimates place total losses -- both insured and those that aren't covered -- at $30 billion to more than $100 billion.

— sara sneath, NOLA.com, "Oil refinery shutdowns raise gasoline prices 1 cent: report," 30 Aug. 2017
Although the preliminary cause of the fire is electrical, Kenny said an exact cause cannot be pinpointed until safe access is available as part of the clean-up effort.

— chuck fieldman, chicagotribune.com, "Electrical fire forces evacuation at Theatre of Western Springs," 29 Aug. 2017
In the council's preliminary work session Tuesday morning, the measure generated little comment.

— lawrence specker, AL.com, "Following Kamden Johnson death, Mobile council considers call for state child-care regulation," 29 Aug. 2017
Fox said the network drew 2,568,000 viewers for the Mayweather-McGregor preliminary matches across Fox, Fox Deportes and FOX Sports GO.

— richard deitsch, SI.com, "ESPN Begins Pushing Ratings Narrative in Battle With Fox Sports," 29 Aug. 2017
This was a small, preliminary study, so its results will need to be confirmed with further research.

— cathleen o'grady, Ars Technica, "Hearing voices? You might just be primed for it," 27 Aug. 2017
A long-term cleanup process is still unfolding at the two other sites, although some preliminary work such as fencing, capping and sludge removal has been conducted.

— frank kummer, Philly.com, "Nine residents sue Sherwin-Williams over South Jersey Superfund sites," 25 Aug. 2017
Between now and 2022, the two defense contractors will start nailing down the technologies necessary to bring the missile to life, demonstrate critical technology in prototypes, and complete preliminary design.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "America Is Building a New, Stealthy Nuclear Cruise Missile," 24 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of preliminary

1657

preliminary Synonyms

Synonyms

beginning, introductory, precursory, prefatory, prelim, prelusive, preparative, preparatory, primary

Related Words

introducing, prefacing, preparing, readying; premonitory, warning; basic, elementary, fundamental; ahead, early, former, preceding, previous, prior

Near Antonyms

after, behind, following, subsequent

PRELIMINARY Defined for English Language Learners

preliminary

play

noun

Definition of preliminary for English Language Learners

: something that comes first in order to prepare for or introduce the main part of something else
: a game that is played before the main part of a competition to decide which players or teams will be allowed to continue playing

preliminary

adjective

Definition of preliminary for English Language Learners

: coming before the main part of something

PRELIMINARY Defined for Kids

preliminary

play

noun pre·lim·i·nary \ pri-ˈli-mə-ˌner-ē \

Definition of preliminary for Students

plural preliminaries

:something that comes before the main or final part

The athletes competed in the preliminaries.

preliminary

adjective

Definition of preliminary for Students

:coming before the main or full part

I won the preliminary round.

The preliminary results are promising.

Law Dictionary

preliminary

adjective pre·lim·i·nary \ pri-ˈli-mə-ˌner-ē \

legal Definition of preliminary

:coming before and usually serving as a temporary or intermediate step to something

preliminary negotiations

a preliminary payment plan

—

preliminarily

adverb

—

preliminary

noun

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preliminary

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preliminarily

Examples of preliminary in a Sentence

Recent Examples of preliminary from the Web

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preliminary Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

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PRELIMINARY Defined for English Language Learners

preliminary

Definition of preliminary for English Language Learners

preliminary

Definition of preliminary for English Language Learners

PRELIMINARY Defined for Kids

preliminary

Definition of preliminary for Students

preliminary

Definition of preliminary for Students

Law Dictionary

preliminary

legal Definition of preliminary

preliminarily

preliminary

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