prep·a·ra·tion /ˌprɛpəˈreʃən/
  準備,預備,配製,配置品,準備工作
  prep·a·ra·tion /ˌprɛpəˈreʃən/ 名詞
  製備,準備,制劑,製品,標本
  preparation
  預備
  preparation
  準備
  Prep·a·ra·tion n.
  1. The act of preparing or fitting beforehand for a particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation of troops for a campaign.
  2. The state of being prepared or made ready; preparedness; readiness; fitness; as, a nation in good preparation for war.
  3. That which makes ready, prepares the way, or introduces; a preparatory act or measure.
     I will show what preparations there were in nature for this dissolution.   --T. Burnet.
  4. That which is prepared, made, or compounded by a certain process or for a particular purpose; a combination. Specifically: (a) Any medicinal substance fitted for use. (b) Anything treated for preservation or examination as a specimen. (c) Something prepared for use in cookery.
     I wish the chemists had been more sparing who magnify their preparations.   --Sir T. Browne.
     In the preparations of cookery, the most volatile parts of vegetables are destroyed.   --Arbuthnot.
  5. An army or fleet. [Obs.]
  6. Mus. The holding over of a note from one chord into the next chord, where it forms a temporary discord, until resolved in the chord that follows; the anticipation of a discordant note in the preceding concord, so that the ear is prepared for the shock. See Suspension.
  7. Accomplishment; qualification. [Obs.]
  ◄ ►
  preparation
       n 1: the activity of putting or setting in order in advance of
            some act or purpose; "preparations for the ceremony had
            begun" [syn: readying]
       2: a substance prepared according to a formula [syn: formulation]
       3: the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in
          the event of something happening; "his planning for
          retirement was hindered by several uncertainties" [syn: planning,
           provision]
       4: the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or
          action (especially military action); "putting them in
          readiness"; "their preparation was more than adequate"
          [syn: readiness, preparedness]
       5: (music) a note that produces a dissonant chord is first
          heard in a consonant chord; "the resolution of one
          dissonance is often the preparation for another disonance"
          [ant: resolution]
       6: activity leading to skilled behavior [syn: training, grooming]
       7: preparatory school work done outside school (especially at
          home) [syn: homework, prep]
       8: the act of preparing something (as food) by the application
          of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed
          who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation
          of meals to his wife" [syn: cooking, cookery]