Standard Lemma guide

prerequisite

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /pɹiːˈɹɛkwɪzɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /pɹiˈɹɛkwəzət/
  • US: /pɹiˈɹɛkwɪzɪt/
  • CMU ARPABET: P R IY0 R EH1 K W AH0 Z AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Required as a prior condition of something else; necessary or indispensable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • The prerequisite warm-up to the match was ignored.
  • A good command of Spanish is prerequisite for enrolling in this course.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Something that is required as necessary or indispensable, or as a prior condition of something else.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • A degree is a prerequisite for entry into this profession.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: requisite

3

noun

Meaning 3

A course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: education

Examples

  • Algebra is typically a prerequisite for physics.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: prereq

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

required as a prior condition or course of study

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

something that is required in advance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Latin was a prerequisite for admission

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: requirement

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: duty, responsibility, obligation

Narrower terms: precondition, academic requirement, essential condition, sine qua non

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh2- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh2i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae-lbor. Middle English pre- English pre- English requisite English prerequisite From pre- + requisite.

Across languages

Translations

72 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: لَازِم (lāzim) — indispensable
  • Czech: nutný — indispensable
  • Czech: nezbytný — indispensable
  • French: prérequis — indispensable
  • French: préalable — indispensable
  • French: nécessaire — indispensable
  • Georgian: აუცილებელი (aucilebeli) — indispensable
  • Georgian: წინაპირობა (c̣inaṗiroba) — indispensable
  • German: unabdingbar — indispensable
  • German: unverzichtbar — indispensable
  • German: vorauszusetzen — indispensable
  • German: zwingend erforderlich — indispensable
  • German: als Vorbedingung geltend — indispensable
  • Arabic: شَرْط (šarṭ) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Arabic: اِحْتِيَاج (iḥtiyāj) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Arabic: وُجُوب (wujūb) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Azerbaijani: zəmin — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Azerbaijani: şərait — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Bulgarian: предпоставка (predpostavka) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Chinese Mandarin: 前提 (qiántí) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Czech: předpoklad — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Danish: forudsætning — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Dutch: voorwaarde — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Dutch: vereiste — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Estonian: eeldus — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Faroese: treyt — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Finnish: edellytys — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Finnish: ennakkoehto — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • French: préalable — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • French: prérequis — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Georgian: წინაპირობა (c̣inaṗiroba) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Georgian: წინასწარი მოთხოვნა (c̣inasc̣ari motxovna) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • German: Voraussetzung — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • German: Vorbedingung — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • German: Unabdingbarkeit — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • German: zwingendes Erfordernis — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Hungarian: előfeltétel — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Hungarian: előkövetelmény — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Indonesian: prasyarat — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Japanese: 前提 (zentei) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Japanese: 前提条件 (zenteijouken) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Kazakh: алғышарт (alğyşart) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Latvian: priekšnoteikums — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Norwegian Bokmål: forutsetning — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Norwegian Bokmål: betingelse — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Persian: پیشنیاز (pišniyāz) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Polish: warunek wstępny — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Portuguese: pré-requisito — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Russian: предпосы́лка (predposýlka) — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Serbo-Croatian: преду́слов — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Serbo-Croatian: преду́вјет — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Serbo-Croatian: predúslov — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Serbo-Croatian: predúvjet — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Spanish: requisito previo — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Spanish: condición previa — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Spanish: prerrequisito — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Swedish: förutsättning — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Swedish: betingelse — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Turkish: ön koşul — Something that must be gained in order to gain something else
  • Chinese Mandarin: 先修(課程) /先修 — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Dutch: vereiste — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Finnish: esitietovaatimus — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • French: prérequis — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Georgian: წინაპირობა (c̣inaṗiroba) — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • German: Teilnahmevoraussetzung — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Persian: پیشنیاز (pišniyāz) — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Portuguese: pré-requisito — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Russian: предусловие (preduslovije) — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Serbo-Croatian: преду́слов — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Serbo-Croatian: преду́вјет — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Serbo-Croatian: predúslov — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started
  • Serbo-Croatian: predúvjet — a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started