Preparation word meaning and definition

[noun] the activity of putting or setting in order in advance of some act or purpose; "preparations for the ceremony had begun"
[noun] the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife"
[noun] preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home)
[noun] activity leading to skilled behavior
[noun] the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening; "his planning for retirement was hindered by several uncertainties"
[noun] (music) a note that produces a dissonant chord is first heard in a consonant chord; "the resolution of one dissonance is often the preparation for another disonance"
[noun] the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action); "putting them in readiness"; "their preparation was more than adequate"
[noun] a substance prepared according to a formula

\Prep`a*ra"tion\, n. [F. pr['e]paration, L. praeparatio. See {Prepare}.] 1. The act of preparing or fitting beforehand for a particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation of troops for a campaign. 2. The state of being prepared or made ready; preparedness; readiness; fitness; as, a nation in good preparation for war. 3. That which makes ready, prepares the way, or introduces; a preparatory act or measure. I will show what preparations there were in nature for this dissolution. --T. Burnet. 4. That which is prepared, made, or compounded by a certain process or for a particular purpose; a combination. Specifically:
(a) Any medicinal substance fitted for use.
(b) Anything treated for preservation or examination as a specimen.
(c) Something prepared for use in cookery. I wish the chemists had been more sparing who magnify their preparations. --Sir T. Browne. In the preparations of cookery, the most volatile parts of vegetables are destroyed. --Arbuthnot. 5. An army or fleet. [Obs.] --Shak. 6. (Mus.) The holding over of a note from one chord into the next chord, where it forms a temporary discord, until resolved in the chord that follows; the anticipation of a discordant note in the preceding concord, so that the ear is prepared for the shock. See {Suspension}. 7. Accomplishment; qualification. [Obs.] --Shak.

Morse code: .--. .-. . .--. .- .-. .- - .. --- -.