English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

preemptive

adjective

Done in advance to stop something bad from happening, or to gain an advantage before someone else can act.

preen

noun

A forked tool used by clothworkers to finish and smooth cloth.

Preeti

name

A feminine given name of Indian origin, meaning "love" or "affection".

preface

noun

An introductory section at the start of a book, usually explaining its background or purpose.

prefatory

adj

Written or spoken as an introduction to something else.

prefect

noun

A senior school student given authority over younger pupils.

prefectural

adjective

Relating to a prefecture or its level of government.

prefecture

noun

A region or administrative division governed by a prefect, especially in countries like Japan or France.

prefer

verb

To like one thing better than another.

preferable

adjective

More desirable or better than an alternative.

preferably

adverb

Ideally; if there is a choice.

preference

noun

A liking for one thing over another.

preferences

noun

The settings a user chooses to customize how a piece of software or a device behaves.

preferendum

noun

A vote in which people choose between several different options rather than a simple yes or no.

preferential

adjective

Giving or showing favor to one person or group over others.

preferment

noun

A right to be paid, or to buy something, ahead of anyone else.

preferred

adjective

Liked or chosen above other options; favored.

preferrer

noun

Someone who prefers a particular person or thing.

prefigurative

adj

Connected with, or acting as, an early sign of something to come.

prefigure

verb

To give an early sign of something that will happen later.

prefiguring

noun

One particular case of something being shown as a sign of what is to come.

prefix

noun

A group of letters added to the front of a word to change its meaning, such as un- in unhappy or re- in rewrite.

preform

noun

An item that has been partly shaped but has not yet reached its finished form.

prefrontal

adjective

Relating to or located in the front part of the brain's frontal lobe, just behind the forehead.

preggers

adj

(informal) Expecting a baby.

preggie

adj

(informal) Expecting a baby.

pregnancy

noun

The condition of carrying a developing baby inside the body, from conception to birth.

pregnant

adjective

Carrying a developing baby inside the body; expecting a child.

prego

interjection

An Italian word used to reply to a thank-you, meaning "you're welcome", and also to invite someone to go ahead, sit down or help themselves.

preheat

verb

To warm something up in readiness for using it.

prehension

noun

The action of taking hold of or gripping something, usually with the hands.

prehistoric

adjective

Belonging to the time before humans kept written records.

prehistory

noun

The period before people kept written records, together with what happened during that time.

prejudice

noun

An unfair opinion or attitude formed in advance, without real knowledge or evidence.

prejudiced

adjective

Holding unfair, biased opinions about a person or group, usually without good reason.

prejudicial

adjective

Likely to cause harm or unfair disadvantage, especially in a legal or formal context.

prejudicious

adj

Showing or feeling prejudice.

prelate

noun

A senior member of the clergy, such as a bishop, who has authority over an area or group of people.

prelector

noun

A person who gives lectures or talks; a lecturer.

prelim

noun

A preliminary event, exam, or round that comes before the main one.

preliminary

adjective

Coming before the main event or process; introductory.

prelude

noun

An event or action that comes before and introduces something bigger.

prem

noun

Informal British shorthand for the Premier League, England's top football division.

premarital

adjective

Happening before marriage.

premature

adjective

Happening or arriving before the proper or expected time.

prematurely

adverb

In a way that happens too early, before the proper time.

premedication

noun

A drug given to a patient before an anaesthetic, usually to help them relax, or the act of giving it.

premeditated

adjective

Planned or thought out in advance, especially a crime.

premeditation

noun

The act of planning something, especially a crime, well before carrying it out.

premier

adjective

Ranked first in importance, quality, or status.

premiere

noun

The first public showing of a film, play, or other performance.

Preminger

name

A surname of Austrian-Jewish origin, notably borne by film director Otto Preminger.

premise

noun

A statement or idea assumed to be true and used as the basis for an argument or story.

premises

noun

A piece of land together with the buildings on it, especially as a single property.

premium

adjective

Of higher quality, price, or status than the standard version.

premodern

adj

From the time before the modern era.

premonition

noun

A strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something bad, before there is any real evidence of it.

premortem

noun

A look at what might go wrong with something before it actually happens.

prenatal

adjective

Happening or existing before birth.

Prendergast

name

An Irish and Welsh surname.

prentice

noun

An older, now mostly historical or literary word for an apprentice.

Prentiss

name

An English surname, a variant of Prentice, originally meaning "apprentice".

prenup

noun

A legal agreement made before marriage setting out how assets would be divided if the marriage ends.

prenuptial

adjective

Occurring or made before marriage.

preoccupancy

noun

The act of taking possession of something before anyone else does.

preoccupation

noun

Something that dominates a person's thoughts and attention, often to the exclusion of other things.

preoccupied

adjective

So absorbed in one's own thoughts or concerns that one pays little attention to anything else.

preoccupy

verb

To take someone's attention away from other things.

preoperative

noun

A transgender person who has not yet undergone gender reassignment surgery.

prep

verb

To get something or someone ready in advance.

prepackaged

adj

Put into its packaging before being offered for sale.

prepaid

adjective

Paid for in advance, before the goods or services are used.

preparation

noun

The act or process of getting ready for something.

preparatory

adjective

Done as preparation; serving to get something or someone ready.

prepare

verb

To make something or someone ready for a particular purpose or event.

prepared

adjective

Ready and willing to do something, or made ready in advance.

preparedness

noun

The state of being ready, especially for an emergency or difficult situation.

preparing

verb

Getting something or someone ready for a future event or use.

prepay

verb

To pay for something before you receive it.

preponderance

noun

A greater amount or number of something; the larger part of a group.

preponderate

verb

To weigh more than something else.

prepone

verb

To move an event to an earlier time than originally planned.

preposition

noun

A word such as in, on, at, to, from, with or by that links a noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence, usually showing place, time, direction or relationship.

prepositus

noun

A provost, the person in charge of certain church organisations.

prepossessed

adj

Having a fixed, one-sided opinion about something.

prepossessing

adj

Pleasant and attractive in a way that makes people warm to someone straight away.

preposterate

verb

To turn something the wrong way round, or upside down.

preposterous

adjective

Utterly absurd or unreasonable; going against common sense.

preposterously

adv

In a way that is ridiculous or absurd.

prepped

adj

Made ready in advance; prepared.

prepper

noun

A pupil who attends a private school that prepares children for a senior school.

prepping

noun

The act of getting something or someone ready in advance.

preppy

adj

Resembling the neat, conservative style of clothing associated with private prep-school students.

prepuce

noun

The fold of skin that covers the tip of the penis.

prequel

noun

A film, book or series that is made after an existing story but set at an earlier point in it, showing what happened before the original.

prerecorded

adj

Recorded before being shown, rather than broadcast live.

prerenal

adj

Located just before the kidney, where major blood vessels meet it.

prerequisite

noun

Something that must be in place or completed before something else can happen.

prerogative

noun

An exclusive right or privilege, often one attached to a particular rank, office, or position.

Pres

adj

Informal shortening of "president," used as a title before a name.

presage

noun

A sign that warns of something about to happen.

presageful

adj

Full of signs that something bad is about to happen.

presbyopia

noun

A condition, caused by ageing, in which the eye becomes unable to focus clearly on nearby objects.

presbyterian

adj

Relating to a form of church government run by elected elders (presbyters) rather than bishops.

preschool

noun

A school for young children before they start primary school; a nursery school.

preschooler

noun

A young child who has not started school yet.

prescient

adj

Able to know, or seem to correctly guess, what will happen before it does.

Prescott

name

An English surname and place name, also a city in Arizona, United States.

prescribe

verb

For a doctor or other licensed practitioner to formally order a medicine or treatment for a patient.

prescribed

adj

Set down officially as the required way of doing something; specified in detail.

prescription

noun

A doctor's written authorization for a patient to receive a particular medicine or treatment.

prescriptionist

adj

Based on what was traditionally done, rather than on how things are used now.

prescriptive

adj

Setting out rules for how something should be done, based on an accepted standard.

prescriptivism

noun

The belief that language should follow fixed, correct rules, rather than simply describing how people actually speak.

prescriptivist

noun

A person who sets rules for how language should be used, or who insists that traditional usage be kept.

presence

noun

The fact or state of being in a particular place.

present

adj

Existing or happening right now; current.

presentable

adj

Tidy and suitable enough in appearance to be shown to others.

presentation

noun

A talk or demonstration given to an audience, often with visual aids.

presented

adj

Shown, offered, or displayed in a particular way.

presenter

noun

A person who hosts a television or radio programme.

presentiment

noun

A feeling, often an uneasy one, that something is about to happen.

presently

adv

Soon; before long.

presents

noun

Legal phrase referring to the document in which it appears ("know all men by these presents").

preservation

noun

The act of keeping something safe from harm, decay, or destruction.

preservative

noun

A natural or man-made substance added to food or other products to stop them going bad.

preserve

verb

To keep something safe from harm, damage, or decay.

preserver

noun

A person or thing that keeps something safe from harm.

preserves

noun

Fruit cooked and sealed with sugar so it keeps for a long time.

preserving

noun

The process of protecting something from decay or damage, often by canning, salting, or similar methods.

preset

adj

Already fixed or chosen beforehand, often as a standard setting.

preside

verb

To be in charge of and direct a meeting, ceremony, or organization.

presidency

noun

The office of president, or the period during which someone holds it.

president

noun

The elected head of state of a republic, or the head of its government.

presidente

noun

A Cuban cocktail made with rum, curaçao, dry vermouth, and grenadine, shaken or stirred with ice.

presidenthood

noun

The position or status of being president.

presidential

adj

Relating to a president or the office of president.

presidentship

noun

The office and rank held by a president.

presiding

adj

Currently holding authority to direct or oversee a meeting or proceeding.

Presley

name

An English surname, most famously associated with the singer Elvis Presley.

press

verb

To push firmly against something, or push down on a button or surface.

pressed

adj

Under strain, especially from lack of time or money.

presser

noun

A person or thing that presses or squeezes something.

pressing

adj

Requiring immediate attention; urgent.

pressman

noun

Someone who operates a printing press.

pressure

noun

The continuous force exerted on or against an object by something in contact with it.

pressuring

noun

The act of trying to force or persuade someone into doing something.

pressurization

noun

The process of raising the air pressure inside an enclosed space.

pressurized

adj

Kept at a higher air pressure than the surroundings, usually for safety or comfort.

prest

noun

Money paid to a worker before it is earned.