1 (prior activity, development) preparación (f) the event took months of preparation the end of the planning and preparation stage exterior painting and decorating needs careful preparation for good results
few things distracted him from the preparation of his lectures pocas cosas le distraían de la preparación de sus clases; the person responsible for food preparation la persona encargada de preparar la comida; education should be a preparation for life la educación debería servir de preparación para la vida
the match was good preparation for next month's tour Benn was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto food preparation areas should be scrupulously clean it would help if I didn't have to do all the food preparation domestic labour such as care of children, shopping, food preparation, washing and mending of clothes etc
her latest novel has been four years in preparation lleva cuatro años preparando su última novela the 1998 conference is now in preparation I went past the kitchens, where lunch was in preparation the area is being cleared in preparation [for] building work
he is learning French in preparation for his new job está aprendiendo francés para prepararse para su nuevo trabajo
troops are on alert in preparation for an attack rub the surface of the wood in preparation for the varnish she has been working hard in preparation for this race food: food preparation
2 preparations preparativos (m);for para; de I helped with the preparations for the party ayudé con los preparativos para or de la fiesta
final preparations are under way for tomorrow's launch preparations for a summit meeting continued
to make preparations (for sth/to do sth) hacer preparativos (para algo/para hacer algo); he'll have to make preparations for the funeral tendrá que hacer los preparativos del or para el funeral
Japan was making preparations for war we made preparations to leave the country the United States is making preparations for a large-scale airlift of 1,200 American citizens further resistance was useless and they began making preparations to surrender
3 (Cookery) (Pharmacology) (substance) preparado (m) a special preparation for removing cellulite I find it very difficult to believe that any cosmetic preparation would actually reduce cellulite anti-ageing creams and preparations for sensitive skin eggs are one of the oldest and most valuable ingredients of beauty preparations lettuce is frequently included in skin preparations
4 (Britain) (in public schools) (homework) deberes (m) the preparation time for this dish is approximately 30 mins teaching also involves preparation time the defense requested the delay, saying they needed more preparation time because of new evidence the Yugoslav delegation did not show up at this morning's meeting, citing insufficient preparation time
