/ prɪˈlɪmɪnəri; NAmE -neri/ adjective , noun
■ adjective
preliminary (to sth) happening before a more important action or event
SYN initial :
After a few preliminary remarks he announced the winners.
preliminary results / findings / enquiries
the preliminary rounds of the contest
pilot studies preliminary to a full-scale study
■ noun
( pl. -ies ) preliminary (to sth) a preliminary is an action or event that is done in preparation for sth :
Research will be needed as a preliminary to taking a decision.
I'll skip the usual preliminaries and come straight to the point.
England was lucky to get through the preliminaries (= the preliminary stages in a sports competition) .
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent.: from modern Latin praeliminaris or French préliminaire , from Latin prae before + limen , limin- threshold.