Definition

A practice test taken before the main test to help prepare or evaluate readiness.

Example

The teacher gave us a pretest to see how much we already knew about the topic.

Conversation

Have you taken the pretest for our math class yet?

Not yet, but I heard it covers a lot of important topics.

Yeah, I think it’s a good way to see what we need to review.

Definitely! I’ll try to take the pretest this weekend.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Definition

To conduct an initial test or assessment before the main test to evaluate knowledge or skills.

Example

The teacher decided to pretest the students to see what they already knew about the topic.

Tense Forms

Conversation

Did you hear that they will pretest the new software next week?

Yeah, I heard about that! It sounds interesting.

I wonder how they will conduct the pretest with all the users involved.

Root Explanation

Pretest → It is formed from "pre-" (meaning before) and "test" (from Latin "testari", meaning to witness or to prove). The word "pretest" refers to a test conducted before the main test, often to assess prior knowledge or readiness.

Memory Tip

Think of a test that happens 'before' ('pre-') the main one — that's what a pretest is.

Visually Confused Words