precondition.

A condition that must be met before something else can happen.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• necessary precondition
• precondition for agreement

On the page

Public disclosure was a precondition for further talks.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Singular precondition; plural preconditions. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, description. Commonness: moderately common.