Word family noun preparation preparations preparedness adjective prepared ≠ unprepared preparatory verb prepare
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpreparatorypre‧par‧a‧to‧ry /prɪˈpærətəri $ -tɔːri/ adjective 1 [only before noun]PREPARE done in order to get ready for something preparatory talks to clear the way for a peace settlement preparatory drawings A lot of preparatory work still needs to be done.2 → preparatory to somethingExamples from the Corpus
preparatory• The most frustrating aspect of this preparatory phase is the waiting period before the attack is triggered.• So striking was the experience that many were said to believe it was preparatory to the end of the world.• Accordingly, as much preparatory work as possible should be done in advance.• In far too many instances real hard preparatory work is confined to well trained union negotiators.• Months of preparatory work needs to be done before construction can begin.• Combined with the preparatory work now being undertaken, that will give councils the maximum time to prepare themselves before April 1993.• But assistant director of environment, development and transportation, Ken Glew, said preparatory work was progressing.• But first there is some preparatory work.