Word.ws English Dictionary

preparing

UK/pɹɪˈpɛəɹɪŋ//pɹɪˈpɛɹɪŋ/

preparing is the present participle and gerund of prepare.

Meaning of prepare

Verb

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; to forearm.
    • We prepared the spacecraft for takeoff.
  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.
    • We prepared for a bumpy ride.
    Synonyms:
    get, get ready
  4. (transitive) To produce or make by combining elements; to synthesize, compound.
    • She prepared a meal from what was left in the cupboards.

See all 5 meanings of prepare

Noun

preparing (plural preparings)

  1. preparation
    • It must be remembered that different methods are adopted in these preparings to produce the different kinds of yarn required for the different kinds of worsted fabrics which are manufactured[…]1854, The Ladies' Repository, volume 22, page 361
    • For, as I draw closer and closer to the end, I travel in the circle, nearer and nearer to the beginning. It seems to be one of the kind smoothings and preparings of the way.1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC

Forms of preparing

pluralpreparings

Phrases with preparing

Questions about preparing

What does preparing mean?
Preparing means preparation.
What is preparing the present participle and gerund of?
Preparing is the present participle and gerund of prepare.
What part of speech is preparing?
Preparing is a noun.
How do you pronounce preparing?
Preparing is pronounced /pɹɪˈpɛəɹɪŋ/ (UK).
What is the plural of preparing?
The plural of preparing is preparings.

Words near preparing in the dictionary

  1. prepares the way
  2. prepares up
  3. preparest
  4. prepareth
  5. preparietal
  6. preparing
  7. preparing ahead
  8. preparing the ground
  9. preparing the way
  10. preparing up
  11. preparingly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: preparing (page history and authors); prepare (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-preparing.ogg.

Cite this entry: “preparing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/preparing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.