preliminary

Bridgezipf 4.16

Pronunciation

/prɪˈlɪmɪnəri/(pri-LIM-in-uh-ree)

Part of speech

adjective / nounformal

Chinese

初步的；预备的（正式工作之前的准备阶段）

Definition

Done in preparation for something more important; coming before the main event.

Word family

  • preliminarily/prɪˈlɪmɪnərɪli/(adv)初步地

Collocations

  • preliminary results
  • preliminary round
  • preliminary report
  • preliminary investigation

Examples

  1. 1.The preliminary findings suggest a positive trend. (early results)
  2. 2.All teams must pass the preliminary round to qualify. (first stage)

Synonyms

  • initial/ɪˈnɪʃəl/— first, neutral
  • preparatory/prɪˈpærətri/— specifically for preparation
  • tentative/ˈtɛntətɪv/— not yet final, may change

Etymology

prae- (before) + limen (threshold) — before crossing the threshold to the real thing