From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
preparation
n 1: the activity of putting or setting in order in advance of
some act or purpose; "preparations for the ceremony had
begun" [syn: readying]
2: a substance prepared according to a formula [syn:
formulation]
3: the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in
the event of something happening; "his planning for
retirement was hindered by several uncertainties" [syn:
planning, provision]
4: the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or
action (especially military action); "putting them in
readiness"; "their preparation was more than adequate"
[syn: readiness, preparedness]
5: (music) a note that produces a dissonant chord is first
heard in a consonant chord; "the resolution of one
dissonance is often the preparation for another disonance"
[ant: resolution]
6: activity leading to skilled behavior [syn: training,
grooming]
7: preparatory school work done outside school (especially at
home) [syn: homework, prep]
8: the act of preparing something (as food) by the application
of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed
who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation
of meals to his wife" [syn: cooking, cookery]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Preparation \Prep`a*ra"tion\, n. [F. pr['e]paration, L.
praeparatio. See Prepare.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The act of preparing or fitting beforehand for a
particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous
arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the
preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation
of troops for a campaign.
[1913 Webster]
2. The state of being prepared or made ready; preparedness;
readiness; fitness; as, a nation in good preparation for
war.
[1913 Webster]
3. That which makes ready, prepares the way, or introduces; a
preparatory act or measure.
[1913 Webster]
I will show what preparations there were in nature
for this dissolution. --T. Burnet.
[1913 Webster]
4. That which is prepared, made, or compounded by a certain
process or for a particular purpose; a combination.
Specifically:
(a) Any medicinal substance fitted for use.
(b) Anything treated for preservation or examination as a
specimen.
(c) Something prepared for use in cookery.
[1913 Webster]
I wish the chemists had been more sparing who
magnify their preparations. --Sir T.
Browne.
[1913 Webster]
In the preparations of cookery, the most
volatile parts of vegetables are destroyed.
--Arbuthnot.
[1913 Webster]
5. An army or fleet. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Mus.) The holding over of a note from one chord into the
next chord, where it forms a temporary discord, until
resolved in the chord that follows; the anticipation of a
discordant note in the preceding concord, so that the ear
is prepared for the shock. See Suspension.
[1913 Webster]
7. Accomplishment; qualification. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]