Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Preparation \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.

Source : WordNet®

preparation
     n 1: the activity of putting or setting in order in advance of
          some act or purpose; "preparations for the ceremony had
          begun" [syn: {readying}]
     2: a substance prepared according to a formula [syn: {formulation}]
     3: 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" [syn: {planning},
         {provision}]
     4: 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"
        [syn: {readiness}, {preparedness}]
     5: (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"
        [ant: {resolution}]
     6: activity leading to skilled behavior [syn: {training}, {grooming}]
     7: preparatory school work done outside school (especially at
        home) [syn: {homework}, {prep}]
     8: 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" [syn: {cooking}, {cookery}]