Preliminary

//pɹɪˈlɪmɪn(ə)ɹi// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A preparation for a main matter; an introduction.

    "In the Chinese novels, often of a very literary character, devoted to masculine love, it seems that all the preliminaries and transports of normal love are to be found, while physical union may terminate the scene."

  2. 2
    something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows wordnet
  3. 3
    Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists
  4. 4
    a minor match preceding the main event wordnet
  5. 5
    A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing
Adjective
  1. 1
    In preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory. not-comparable

    "These are just the preliminary results."

Adjective
  1. 1
    denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
exploratoryintroductionpreparationpreparatoryadvanceadvanced

Example

More examples

"Before we begin, a number of preliminary remarks are in order."

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin praelīmināris, formed from prae- (“before”) + līmen (“threshold”) + -āris (adjectival suffix); compare Latin līmināris (“of or belonging to a threshold”). Compare French préliminaire.

Related phrases

preliminary considerationspreliminary examinationpreliminary injunctionpreliminary resultspreliminary ruling

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.