Pronunciation: /priːˈtəːm/
Medicine
adjective
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born or occurring after a pregnancy significantly shorter than normal, especially after no more than 37 weeks of pregnancy: babies born during preterm labour preterm babies who did not require respiratory support had a high prevalence of wheeze and cough in the first year of life
adverb
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after a short pregnancy; prematurely: babies born preterm are likely to lack surfactant in the lungs