prep·a·ra·tion /ˌprɛpəˈreʃən/
 準備,預備,配製,配置品,準備工作
 prep·a·ra·tion /ˌprɛpəˈreʃən/ 名詞
 製備,準備,制劑,製品,標本
 preparation
 預備
 preparation
 準備
 Prep·a·ra·tion n.
 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.
 2. The state of being prepared or made ready; preparedness; readiness; fitness; as, a nation in good preparation for war.
 3. That which makes ready, prepares the way, or introduces; a preparatory act or measure.
    I will show what preparations there were in nature for this dissolution.   --T. Burnet.
 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.
    I wish the chemists had been more sparing who magnify their preparations.   --Sir T. Browne.
    In the preparations of cookery, the most volatile parts of vegetables are destroyed.   --Arbuthnot.
 5. An army or fleet. [Obs.]
 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.
 7. Accomplishment; qualification. [Obs.]
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 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]