preliminary

Pluralpreliminaries

1. 1
   adjective

   Coming before and in preparation for the main matter; initial or introductory.

   The committee released its preliminary findings ahead of the full report.

   After a few preliminary remarks, the speaker turned to the main topic.

   Similarinitial, introductory, preparatory

   Oppositefinal, definitive

   Note

   The word stands before a threshold. New Latin praelīmināris joins prae- ("before") to līmen ("threshold"), so what is preliminary is what happens before you step into the main room. It is not comparable: something is preliminary or it is not, never "more preliminary." It sits naturally before nouns of early-stage work: preliminary results, findings, a preliminary writeup, or George Orwell's few preliminary tries before a chorus. Its opposites are final and definitive.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   An action or step that prepares the way for the main matter; an introduction.

   After the usual preliminaries, the negotiations began in earnest.

   She treated the interview as a mere preliminary to the real test.

   Similarprelude, preamble, introduction, formality, overture

   Note

   The noun is most at home in the plural. The preliminaries are the customary steps expected before the real business begins, as in the usual preliminaries. Havelock Ellis, in Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1927), extends it to courtship with "the preliminaries and transports" of love. In the singular it typically takes to: a mere preliminary to the real test.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   One of a series of sporting contests held to determine which competitors advance to the finals.

   He was eliminated in the preliminaries before reaching the main draw.

   Only the top two from each preliminary advance to the next round.

   Similarheat, qualifier, eliminator

   Oppositefinal

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A relatively minor contest, especially in boxing, that takes place before the major event of the program.

   He fought several preliminaries before earning a spot on the main card.

   The crowd was still thin during the opening preliminary.

   Similarcurtain-raiser, opener

   Oppositeheadliner

   Note

   Boxing is where this sense lives. A preliminary is a supporting bout on the undercard, a chance for less prominent fighters to appear before the headline event. Unlike the qualifying rounds, it decides nothing about who reaches a final. It simply comes earlier on the program, and its importance is measured against the main fight it precedes.

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