conditions

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of condition.

   Pilots delayed the flight because of dangerous weather conditions.

   The loan came with several strict conditions about repayment.

   Note

   The noun turns plural wherever condition can be counted: a list of requirements, a range of illnesses, the separate states that surround an event. The same spelling also serves as the verb's present-tense form. So in "the bank conditions its loans" and "the bank's conditions", only the grammar around the word tells the reader whether it names stipulations or the act of imposing them.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of condition.

   The coach conditions his players with sprints before each season.

   Repeated praise gradually conditions a child to expect reward.

   Note

   The -s form a singular subject needs, and it nearly always takes an object: a trainer conditions athletes, a rinse conditions hair. Two constructions are worth knowing. With on, it makes one thing depend on another (the agreement conditions payment on delivery). With an object and a to-infinitive, it shapes behavior (training conditions a dog to wait).

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