Definition of "preparatory" []

• Serving to make ready or prepare; introductory. See Synonyms at preliminary. (adjective)
• Relating to or engaged in study or training that serves as preparation for advanced education: a preparatory course; preparatory students. (adjective)
• In preparation for. Used with to: thoroughly cleaned the house preparatory to our departure. (adverb)

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.

• "What I say is there was a plan that General Franks drafted of $700 million, a project, what they called preparatory tasks, to be taken in Kuwait, in countries in the Middle East, that would put him in a better position if there was war."
• "(which they call the preparatory), and being cold by being forced to sit with my hat off close to a window in the Hall, Sir W. Pen and I to the"
• "Tuesday's meeting between Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir was described as preparatory."