Definition of "preterm" [preterm]

• Occurring or appearing before the expected time at the end of a full-term pregnancy: preterm labor; a preterm infant. (adjective)
• An infant born prematurely. (noun)

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.

• "Cerebral hemodynamics in preterm infants during positional intervention measured with diffuse correlation spectroscopy and transcranial Doppler ultrasound."
• "Thirty-five states saw a significant decline in preterm births."
• "Earlier research had suggested several factors behind the rising preterm rate, including increases in preterm labor induction and cesarean sections and a growing proportion of multiple births, which are more likely to be premature."