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

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
This satisfying salad is one of our favorite copycat recipes to meal prep and eat throughout the week for lunch. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 July 2025 With a home full of activities — from dance and football to swim lessons and homeschooling — grocery trips also double as prep for the week ahead. Valerie Mesa, People.com, 28 July 2025
Verb
The entire dish takes just 10 minutes to prep, and calls for 5 inexpensive pantry ingredients. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 July 2025 This smooths the area and lifts, so my eye area is ready for makeup! 5) Create a natural face base that will prep your skin well. Sarah Boyd, Forbes.com, 25 July 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 4 Aug. 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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