prerequisite
/pɹiˈɹɛkwəzət/adjective, noun
prerequisite is spelled P-R-E-R-E-Q-U-I-S-I-T-E: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, prerequisite means “Required as a prior condition of something else; necessary or indispensable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prerequisite?
| Letters | 12: P-R-E-R-E-Q-U-I-S-I-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is prerequisite?
Prerequisite appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th 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 prerequisite?
- UK /pɹiːˈɹɛkwɪzɪt/
- US /pɹiˈɹɛkwəzət/
- US /pɹiˈɹɛkwɪzɪt/
Prerequisite has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-prerequisite.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of prerequisite
- prerequisites plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prerequisite mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Required as a prior condition of something else; necessary or indispensable.
The prerequisite warm-up to the match was ignored.
noun
- 1
Something that is required as necessary or indispensable, or as a prior condition of something else.
A degree is a prerequisite for entry into this profession.
- 2
A course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started.
Algebra is typically a prerequisite for physics.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate prerequisite?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of prerequisite: prereq.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prerequisite in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prérequis, préalable, nécessaire |
| German | unabdingbar, unverzichtbar, vorauszusetzen, zwingend erforderlich, als Vorbedingung geltend , Voraussetzung |
| Portuguese | pré-requisito |
| Spanish | requisito previo, condición previa, prerrequisito |
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 prerequisite come from?
From pre- + requisite.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).