prerequisite
Americanadjective
noun
-
prerequisites
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of prerequisite
Compare meaning
How does prerequisite compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A prerequisite is a required prior condition. If something is required in advance of something else, like if you have to take a beginning Spanish class before signing up for Spanish II, then it’s a prerequisite. Add pre meaning "before" to require and you have something that's "required before." (That's helpful when trying to spell prerequisite!) Prerequisites to be able to graduate from college can seem like a pain, but most schools offer some fun ways to fulfill them. For example, you can often meet the physical education prerequisite by taking bowling. Prerequisites aren't just for school: “The most called-upon prerequisite of a friend is an accessible ear,” said Maya Angelou, the American poet.
Vocabulary lists containing prerequisite
Power Prefix: pre-
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Grade 9, List 2
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The Vocabulary of College
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"We have seen that vibrating objects can exhibit quantum behavior, which is the prerequisite for many of the operations needed by quantum computing and sensing."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Recent history suggests success in one of football's biggest tournaments has become almost a prerequisite.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
“The entity’s failure is not a prerequisite for there to be a crime in intentionally misleading conduct,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
We often take liberty for granted, but it is a prerequisite for everything great.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
The one-sidedness of that exchange of germs becomes even more striking when we recall that large, dense human populations are a prerequisite for the evolution of our crowd infectious diseases.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Such capabilities are considered essential prerequisites for the emergence of living systems.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
These are prerequisites to reopening Hormuz to commercial traffic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
Bolen, who is publishing a book on aging, caregiving and creating family legacy, emphasized that estate planning and giving strategies should prioritize family harmony and care planning as prerequisites to financial gifts.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 10, 2025
At the last G7 meeting, held in Canada in June, the group's member states and Australia decided to collaborate on establishing benchmarks that are "prerequisites for the development of quantum technologies".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025
Many other human societies besides those of the Sumerians and early Mexicans—such as those of ancient India, Crete, and Ethiopia—evolved these prerequisites.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
