prepare

Borrowed from Middle French preparer, from Classical Latin praeparāre (“make ready in advance”), from prae- (“pre-”) + parāre (“make ready”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈpɛə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈpɛəɹ/, /pɹəˈpɛəɹ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

prepare (third-person singular simple present prepares, present participle preparing, simple past and past participle prepared)

1. (transitive) To make ready for a specific future purpose; to set up; to assemble or equip.

   We prepared the spacecraft for takeoff.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Psalms 107:36:

     that they may prepare a city for habitation

   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 228732415:

     our souls, not yet prepared for upper light

2. (transitive) To make ready for eating or drinking; to cook.

   We prepared a fish for dinner.

3. (intransitive) To make oneself ready; to get ready, make preparation.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess‎:

     As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once.

   We prepared for a bumpy ride.

4. (transitive) To produce or make by combining elements; to synthesize, compound.

   She prepared a meal from what was left in the cupboards.

• This is a catenative verb that can take a following verb in its to + infinitive form. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

• busk (obsolete), graith (obsolete), ready, yark (obsolete)
• (To make oneself ready): get ready

• foreprepare
• if you want peace, prepare for war (proverb)
• unprepare

• preparation

prepare

1. (obsolete) preparation
   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene i], line 130:

     Go levy men, and make prepare for war;

• paperer, repaper

From French préparer (“prepare”), from Latin praeparāre (“make ready in advance”), from prae- (“pre-”) + parāre (“make ready”).

prepare

1. prepare

prepare

1. inflection of preparar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

• IPA^(key): [preˈpare]

prepare

1. third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of prepara

• IPA^(key): /pɾeˈpaɾe/ [pɾeˈpa.ɾe]
• Rhymes: -aɾe
• Syllabification: pre‧pa‧re

prepare

1. inflection of preparar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative