precondition

«precondition» in Mova's school dictionary: Something that must be true or must happen before… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a precondition, preconditions)

meaning for a pupil

Something that must be true or must happen before something else can happen. tree →

sense in the lessons

Used in formal talk, science and maths: «Water is a precondition for life.» In negotiations and rules: «There are no preconditions for joining the club.» In computing, a precondition is what must be true before a program step runs.

examples

• Finishing your homework is a precondition for going out to play. tree →
• Oxygen is a precondition for fire. tree →
• The talks began without any preconditions. tree →
• A precondition for joining the team is coming to training. tree →
• Trust is a precondition for friendship. tree →
• Light is a precondition for photosynthesis. tree →

note

Countable. Similar: requirement, condition, prerequisite. «Pre-» means before. Usually followed by «for» or «of».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «precondition» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.