preliminary

Academic Word List, sublist 9.

About 18.32 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective In preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.

   These are just the preliminary results.

2. noun A preparation for a main matter; an introduction.
3. noun Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists.
4. noun A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing.

Similar words

prelude prelim overture explorative exploratory lead-in pretrial pre-test introductory preview

Often followed by

report to results study work injunction studies investigation hearing analysis

Word family

preliminaries preliminarily