Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A preliminary test administered to determine a student's baseline knowledge or preparedness for an educational experience or course of study.
  • noun A test taken for practice.
  • noun The advance testing of something, such as a questionnaire, product, or idea.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To subject to or conduct a pretest.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A preliminary test, given in advance of instruction or evaluation.
  • verb transitive To administer a pretest to.
  • verb intransitive To carry out a pretest.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

pre- + test

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Examples

  • From the ETS's point of view, the statistical pretest is essential; how else can it guarantee, year after year, that the test will measure just the same things, in just the same way?

    The Tests and the Brightest 1980

  • The European vote has become a "pretest" for national elections set for October, says Ivan Gabal, a political consultant in Prague.

    EU Parliament Vote Is a Poll on Recovery 2009

  • Quite the contrary, what we are calling self-science—conducted in the living laboratories of our personal lives (Type I) or exploratory investigations where laboratory scientists pretest themselves (Type II)—sometimes uncovers essential proof-of-concept evidence that provides the foundation for advancing science and society.

    The Sacred Promise Phd Gary E. Schwartz 2011

  • Quite the contrary, what we are calling self-science—conducted in the living laboratories of our personal lives (Type I) or exploratory investigations where laboratory scientists pretest themselves (Type II)—sometimes uncovers essential proof-of-concept evidence that provides the foundation for advancing science and society.

    The Sacred Promise Phd Gary E. Schwartz 2011

  • Quite the contrary, what we are calling self-science—conducted in the living laboratories of our personal lives (Type I) or exploratory investigations where laboratory scientists pretest themselves (Type II)—sometimes uncovers essential proof-of-concept evidence that provides the foundation for advancing science and society.

    The Sacred Promise Phd Gary E. Schwartz 2011

  • With the 2009 set to kick off, USA TODAY grades each team's offseason, the pretest before the real exams begin:

    NFL offseason grades: Clunky start nets 'F' for new coaches 2009

  • Quite the contrary, what we are calling self-science—conducted in the living laboratories of our personal lives (Type I) or exploratory investigations where laboratory scientists pretest themselves (Type II)—sometimes uncovers essential proof-of-concept evidence that provides the foundation for advancing science and society.

    The Sacred Promise Phd Gary E. Schwartz 2011

  • Thank you Obama supporters for your counter-pretest!

    Obama supporters planning DNC counter-protest 2008

  • It provided pretest consultation, informed consent, and test authorization by a medical geneticist.

    The $1,000 Genome Kevin Davies 2010

  • When using a recommended cleaning agent, always pretest it in an inconspicuous area, such as the back of a tie or an inside seam.

    Getting out that damned spot with new iPhone app from Tide 2009

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