SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

pretrain

verb pre·train \ ˌprē-ˈtrān \

variants: or pre-train

Definition of pretrain

pretrained or pre-trained; pretraining or pre-training

transitive verb

: to train in advance

School volunteers are pretrained before they are sent into classrooms.

First Known Use of pretrain

1943

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up pretrain? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

cajole

play

to coax or persuade

Words at Play

alt-5b05d8545c817

'Folksonomy': Let’s Get Organized

Tag the way you want to tag.

12 Words from All Over the Map

Some words say exactly where they're from

alt-5b032d1aef0e9

'Ingenious' and 'Ingenuous': More Than a Typo

One's clever, the other's like a child

alt-5b0310daaafde

A Matter-of-Fact Look at 'Deadpan'

Surely we can be serious.

Ask the Editors

video-ghost-words

Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-literally

Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz

We’re already at the end of May?!

Take the quiz

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

How familiar are you with Nabokov’s unfamiliar vocabulary?

Take the quiz

True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game