preparation
prep·a·ra·tion/ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/noun
preparation is spelled P-R-E-P-A-R-A-T-I-O-N, 4 syllables: prep·a·ra·tion. The wrong spelling people search most is preperation: about 740 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 2 in 10 of all searches for the word. Preparation is a noun meaning “The act of preparing or getting ready”. The plural of preparation is preparations.
How many letters and syllables are in preparation?
| Letters | 11: P-R-E-P-A-R-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: prep·a·ra·tion |
| In writing | 21 times per million words; the 4,153rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, preperation, about 740 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell preparation?
Preparation is spelled P-R-E-P-A-R-A-T-I-O-N. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 2 in 10 of the searches for preparation in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is preparation?
Preparation appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,153rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce preparation?
- US /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/
Preparation has 4 syllables, split prep·a·ra·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-preparation.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with preparation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as preparation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃn/):
- information
- formation
- presentation
- relation
- identification
- observation
- variation
- obligation
- simulation
- notification
- calculation
- reconciliation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of preparation
- preparations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preparation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of preparing or getting ready.
I went over my notes in preparation for the exam.
- 2
The state of being prepared; readiness.
- 3
A substance, especially a remedy, that is prepared.
The traditional remedy is a bitter preparation made from steamed herbs.
- 4
A part of any animal body preserved as a specimen.
- 5
Any of the objects placed between the strings of a prepared piano.
- 6
The day before the Sabbath or other Jewish feast-day.
- 7
Devotional exercises introducing an office.
- 8
The previous introduction, as an integral part of a chord, of a note continued into a succeeding dissonance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate preparation?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of preparation: prepn..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preparation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | préparation , concoction |
| German | Vorbereitung , Präparat, Probe (Anatomie) |
| Portuguese | preparação |
| Spanish | preparación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does preparation come from?
From Middle English preparacion, from Middle French preparacion, from Latin praeparatio, praeparationem. Morphologically prepare + -ation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).