Definition of "preflight" [preflight]

• Preparing for or occurring before flight. (adjective)
• To check (an aircraft) for airworthiness before flight. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Even if you've recently used the stand, always do a "preflight" check to be certain that it's working properly and that there are no frayed straps or missing parts."
• "But there aren't that many of us who do that kind of preflight checkout work, and everybody's work pad checked out clean."
• "To that end, Canoe will work with a programmer "preflight" to ensure the apps are certified and tested before they're sent out to the MSOs."