1. The act or process of preparing.
2. The state of having been made ready beforehand; readiness.
3. A preliminary measure that serves to make ready for something. Often used in the plural: preparations for the wedding.
4. A substance, such as a medicine, prepared for a particular purpose.
5. Music.
   1. The anticipation of a dissonant tone by means of its introduction as a consonant tone in the preceding chord.
   2. The dissonant tone so anticipated.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.