Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use preliminary in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun

Preliminary means in preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory. Example: “These are just the preliminary results.”

Examples of preliminary by meaning

adjectiveIn preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.

  • These are just the preliminary results.
  • And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into 'Beasts of England' in tremendous unison.1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […]...
  • The Zurich group has shared a preliminary writeup of its findings.2025 April 28, Kate Travis, “Experiment using AI-generated posts on Reddit draws fire for ethics concerns”, in Retraction Watch, archived...

nounA preparation for a main matter; an introduction.

  • In the Chinese novels, often of a very literary character, devoted to masculine love, it seems that all the preliminaries and transports of normal love are to be found, while physical union may terminate the scene.1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)

More sentences with preliminary

  • Mabel dreaded the upcoming ball and the preliminary corseting it would entail.From the entry corset
  • The preliminary conclusion was that the SARS virus crossed the xenographic barrier from palm civet to humans.From the entry xenographic
  • As the photographer took a couple of preliminary photographs of Mandy, Marcus seized the moment.2023 October 26, Francesca Street, “Two strangers moved into an apartment in Prague. Then they fell in love”, in CNN Travel. From the entry twig
  • The buyers aim to bring preliminary project plans to Clark County within 60 days, Tyler said.2021 August 19, Eli Segall, “Tiny Nevada desert town sells for $8M”, in Las Vegas Review-Journal, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2021. From the entry Clark County
  • An estimated $85 billion is required to fund preliminary LGU adaptation requirements.2021 October 21, Department of Finance Philippines, “Philippines Goes Green”, in CNN. From the entry LGU
  • Our study thus provides a preliminary view of PCA in Chinese patients.2015 August 13, “A Pilot Study on Clinical and Neuroimaging Characteristics of Chinese Posterior Cortical Atrophy: Comparison with Typical…. From the entry temporoparietooccipital
  • Preliminary studies had indicated that parthenin and phenylheptatriene, the major metabolites in P.2015 September 15, “The Invasive American Weed Parthenium hysterophorus Can Negatively Impact Malaria Control in Africa”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI. From the entry phenylheptatriene
  • In this preliminary version, we do not yet deal in detail with bifunctors..2015, Aurélien Djament, “De l'homologie des groupes d'automorphismes des groupes libres à coefficients dans un bifoncteur polynomial”, in…. From the entry bifunctors
  • Preliminary data scans indicate that it contains nothing more than a holographic presentation.2014, Joshua Done, Exile Empire, →ISBN. From the entry holopod
  • In a previous preliminary experiment, we determined facial expressions for the robot KOBIAN-R with manga marks.2014, Tatsuhiro Kishi, Hajime Futaki, Gabriele Trovato, Nobutsuna Endo, A Robotic Head that Displays Japanese “Manga” Marks. From the entry manga mark
  • Knowing the nisbas of the litigants and their representatives was the qāḍī's single most important preliminary task.2013, Zouhair Ghazzal, The grammars of adjudication: The economics of judicial decision making in fin-de-siècle Ottoman Beirut and Damascus. From the entry nisba
  • He recently persuaded the Mongolian government to give him $1 million for preliminary planning.2013 September 20, Bill Donahue, “Mongolia’s economy is soaring, but at what cost?”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from…. From the entry Sainshand
  • Preliminary intervention trials of ω-3 fatty acid supplementation for clinical depression and other disorders have reported benefit.2007 July 15, MarilynMann, “Tissue n − 3 and n − 6 fatty acids and risk for coronary heart disease events”, in sci.med.cardiology…. From the entry ω-3 fatty acid
  • Once a preliminary application design is complete, a wizard-of-oz study can help test and refine the interface.2006, E. K. Brown, Anne Anderson, Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, volume 11, page 769. From the entry Wizard of Oz
  • Figure 23.7 demonstrates our smoothing operator applied to a preliminary 3D scan conversion of the Utah teapot.2003, Stanley Osher, Nikos Paragios, Geometric level set methods in imaging, vision, and graphics. From the entry Utah teapot
  • A third preliminary comment deals explicitly with the relations between clients and superpowers.1989, Edward A. Kolodziej, Roger E. Kanet, Limits of Soviet Power, page 95. From the entry client
  • During the preliminaries I, as usual, "got her going" by irritation of the clitoris, among other things.1948, Journal of Clinical Psychology: Monograph Supplement. From the entry get going
  • And sometimes he had some preliminary information to help him, and sometimes he had not.1917, Joseph Conrad, The Tale. From the entry all one
  • Preliminary analysis of autopsy data suggests that virtually all victims were found to have dihydrogen-monoxide in their bodies.2020 July, Ernst H. Kastning, “Gravity: Fundamental Factor in All Caving Accidents: Empirical Study of Thousands of Incidents Since 1695…. From the entry dihydrogen-monoxide
  • Preliminary results indicate intratendinous, ultrasound-guided PRP injection may lead to improvements in pain, function, and MRI-documented tendon pathology.2016 February 6, “A Pilot Study Evaluating the Effectiveness of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Treating Degenerative Tendinopathies: A…. From the entry intratendinous
  • A book usually consists of three sections: preliminary matter (also called prelims or front matter), the main text, and end matter.2014, “1.1 General Principles”, in “The parts of a book”, in New Oxford Style Manual, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 1. From the entry prelims
  • When the ball bounced, the open stance was a good preliminary position from which to play the cross-batted swipe or lappa.2010, Mukul Kesavan, Keshwani Mukul, Men in White, page 12. From the entry lappa
  • I said hello to the skinny, sweet-faced salesboys and did a preliminary tour of the room trying on jackets and blazers.2009 October 1, Mike Albo, “Neighborhood Preservation”, in New York Times. From the entry salesboy
  • Preattending is a preliminary step in learning; it involves looking at the materials, listening, and sitting quietly during instruction.2002, David W. Barnett, Susan H. Bell, Karen T. Carey, Designing Preschool Interventions: A Practitioner's Guide, →ISBN, page 174. From the entry preattend
  • An ailment can be a rite de passage, a childhood illness an essential preliminary to entry into adulthood.1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, Folio Society, published 2016, page 34. From the entry rite de passage
  • Preliminary examination of interbedded dark shales reveals abundant geisinid ostracodes and plant material, interpreted to represent restricted, low energy, nearshore deposition.1994, Raymond A. Garber, David R. Keller, Field Guide to the Paleozoic Section of the San Andres Mountains. From the entry geisinid
  • A highway ran along here, which permitted us to bring up artillery and to subject the aul to preliminary bombardment.1993, Eduard M[artynovich] Dune; Diane P. Koenker and S[tephen] A[nthony] Smith, translators and editors, Notes of a Red Guard, Urbana…. From the entry aul
  • It also identified preliminary engineering guidelines for the airport facilities.1992, American Society of Civil Engineers, International Air Transportation: A New International Airport: Proceedings of the 22nd…. From the entry workstream
  • The isolation of the 3β-amino-steroid solanogantine from leaves of S. giganteum was earlier the subject of a preliminary communication.1981, M. F. Grundon, Alkaloids, page 230. From the entry solanogantine
  • Our findings in this preliminary investigation of the pathologic potential of this rangiferine species of Sarcocystis must be qualified as follows.1972, Kenneth A. Neiland, Caribou Disease Studies, page 12. From the entry rangiferine
  • After a preliminary course in anatomy it was found that caecum and transverse colon also provided excellent sites for excitation.1970, J. G. Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition. From the entry caecum
  • These preliminary experiments indicate that echo-sounding equipment may be of considerable use in the study of sublacune geology.1961, Edward Gick Richardson, Sound: A Physical Text-Book, Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd, published 1961, page 328. From the entry sublacune
  • A preliminary air pressure of 15 pounds was used on the unincised ties and 10 pounds on the incised ties.1955 Hickory Task Force page 5. From the entry unincised
  • An official was directed to make a preliminary survey for a proposed railway from Foochow to Mamoi (Pagoda Anchorage).1916 March 29, C. H. Brewitt-Taylor, Foochow Trade Report (Returns of Trade and Trade Reports 1915), Shanghai: Inspectorate General of…. From the entry Lienchiang
  • We also owe much to the other swordmasters for their patient work with us in our preliminary training.1908, First Class, United States Naval Academy, Lucky Bag, First Class, United States Naval Academy, page 210. From the entry swordmaster
  • Now old Falkenmeyer's fiddle feelingly quavered a few notes, then sonorously heralded the preliminary bass of the first set.1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia…. From the entry sonorously

Meaning of preliminary

  1. adjective In preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.
  2. noun A preparation for a main matter; an introduction.
  3. noun Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists.

Full definition of preliminary

Questions about preliminary in a sentence

How do you use preliminary in a sentence?
Preliminary is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “These are just the preliminary results.”
What is a short sentence with preliminary?
“These are just the preliminary results.”
What does preliminary mean?
Preliminary means in preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: preliminary (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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