Other

preliminary

Syllabification: (pre·lim·i·nar·y)

Definition of preliminary

denoting an action or event preceding or done in preparation for something fuller or more important:preliminary talks the discussions were seen as preliminary to the policy paper

an action or event preceding or preparing for something fuller or more important:the bombardment was resumed as a preliminary to an infantry attack
(preliminaries) business or talk, especially of a formulaic or polite nature, taking place before an action or event:she began speaking, without preliminaries
a preliminary round in a sporting competition.
(preliminaries)fuller form of prelims (see prelim (sense 2)).

Phrases

mid 17th century: from modern Latin praeliminaris or French préliminaire, from Latin prae 'before' + limen, limin- 'threshold'

Definition of preliminary in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

More results for preliminary