prep

1 of 3

noun

1
2
3
: a preliminary trial for a racehorse

prep

2 of 3

verb

prepped; prepping

intransitive verb

1
: to attend preparatory school
2
[short for prepare] : to get ready

transitive verb

: prepare
especially : to prepare for an operation or examination
nurses prepped the patient

PrEP

3 of 3

abbreviation

pre-exposure prophylaxis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that PrEP, when used consistently, can reduce the risk of H.I.V. infection by up to 92 percent.Ginia Bellafante

Examples of prep in a Sentence

Noun Painting a room involves a lot of prep. Verb She spent all night prepping for the test. The runners are prepping themselves for the race. It took me about 20 minutes to prep the vegetables.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Pair them with colored tights or mid-rise jeans to add sophistication and prep to your look. Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 22 Nov. 2024 Whatever the reason, cooking a frozen turkey can be a good option for those looking to bypass thawing and simplify their holiday meal prep. Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2024
Verb
Road restrictions are popping up as crews prep for Vice President Kamala Harris' concert outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Monday. Mike D'onofrio, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024 Later, Daisy asks Diana to prep some lime juice, and the junior stew asks what it’s used for. Emma Soren, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for prep 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1909, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of prep was in 1862

Dictionary Entries Near prep

Cite this Entry

“Prep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prep. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

prep

1 of 3 noun
: the act or an instance of preparing a patient for a surgical operation
the nurse had three preps to do

prep

2 of 3 transitive verb
prepped; prepping
: to prepare for a surgical operation or examination
prep the patient for an appendectomy

PrEP

3 of 3 abbreviation
pre-exposure prophylaxis
The introduction of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has shown significant promise in reducing the rate of HIV incidence. … Although nearly 1.2 million people could benefit from PrEP, AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) estimates that ~130,000–135,000 individuals were actively on PrEP in late 2019—meaning <15% of individuals in need of PrEP had a current prescription.Benedikt Pleuhs et al., AIDS Patient Care and STDs

More from Merriam-Webster on prep

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