Dictionary › P › prepare

prepare

2 syllables

verb noun

Quick answer

As a verb, prepare means make ready for a specific future purpose.

Meanings of prepare

13 meanings

verb

To make ready for a specific future purpose; to set up; to assemble or equip.
“We prepared the spacecraft for takeoff.”
To make ready for eating or drinking; to cook.
“We prepared a fish for dinner.”
To make oneself ready; to get ready, make preparation.
“We prepared for a bumpy ride.”
To produce or make by combining elements; to synthesize, compound.
“She prepared a meal from what was left in the cupboards.”
Make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
“Get the children ready for school!”
“prepare for war”
“I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill”
Similar: fix, set up, ready, gear up, set
Prepare for eating by applying heat
“Cook me dinner, please”
“can you make me an omelette?”
“fix breakfast for the guests, please”
Similar: cook, fix, ready, make
To prepare verbally, either for written or spoken delivery
“prepare a report”
“prepare a speech”
Arrange by systematic planning and united effort
“machinate a plot”
“organize a strike”
“devise a plan to take over the director's office”
Similar: organize, organise, devise, get up, machinate
Educate for a future role or function
“He is grooming his son to become his successor”
“The prince was prepared to become King one day”
“They trained him to be a warrior”
Similar: groom, train
Create by training and teaching
“The old master is training world-class violinists”
“we develop the leaders for the future”
Similar: train, develop, educate
Lead up to and soften by sounding the dissonant note in it as a consonant note in the preceding chord
“prepare the discord in bar 139”
Undergo training or instruction in preparation for a particular role, function, or profession
“She is training to be a teacher”
“He trained as a legal aid”
Similar: train