being and remaining ready and available for use; "waiting cars and limousines lined the curb"; "found her mother waiting for them"; "an impressive array of food ready and waiting for the guests"; "military forces ready and waiting"
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner"
a minor match preceding the main event
designed to orient or acquaint with a situation before proceeding; "a preliminary investigation"
the act or process of drawing up plans or layouts for some project or enterprise
an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action; "the planning was more fun than the trip itself"
the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening; "his planning for retirement was hindered by several uncertainties"
care by procedures or applications that are intended to relieve illness or injury
the management of someone or something; "the handling of prisoners"; "the treatment of water sewage"; "the right to equal treatment in the criminal justice system"
a manner of dealing with something artistically; "his treatment of space borrows from Italian architecture"