The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Preparation \Prep`a*ra"tion\, n. [F. pr['e]paration, L.
   praeparatio. See Prepare.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. The act of preparing or fitting beforehand for a
      particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous
      arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the
      preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation
      of troops for a campaign.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The state of being prepared or made ready; preparedness;
      readiness; fitness; as, a nation in good preparation for
      war.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. That which makes ready, prepares the way, or introduces; a
      preparatory act or measure.
      [1913 Webster]

            I will show what preparations there were in nature
            for this dissolution.                 --T. Burnet.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. That which is prepared, made, or compounded by a certain
      process or for a particular purpose; a combination.
      Specifically:
      (a) Any medicinal substance fitted for use.
      (b) Anything treated for preservation or examination as a
          specimen.
      (c) Something prepared for use in cookery.
          [1913 Webster]

                I wish the chemists had been more sparing who
                magnify their preparations.       --Sir T.
                                                  Browne.
          [1913 Webster]

                In the preparations of cookery, the most
                volatile parts of vegetables are destroyed.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.
          [1913 Webster]

   5. An army or fleet. [Obs.] --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. (Mus.) The holding over of a note from one chord into the
      next chord, where it forms a temporary discord, until
      resolved in the chord that follows; the anticipation of a
      discordant note in the preceding concord, so that the ear
      is prepared for the shock. See Suspension.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. Accomplishment; qualification. [Obs.] --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

preparation
    n 1: the activity of putting or setting in order in advance of
         some act or purpose; "preparations for the ceremony had
         begun" [syn: preparation, readying]
    2: a substance prepared according to a formula; "the physician
       prescribed a commercial preparation of the medicine" [syn:
       formulation, preparation]
    3: 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" [syn:
       planning, preparation, provision]
    4: the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or
       action (especially military action); "putting them in
       readiness"; "their preparation was more than adequate" [syn:
       readiness, preparedness, preparation]
    5: (music) a note that produces a dissonant chord is first heard
       in a consonant chord; "the resolution of one dissonance is
       often the preparation for another dissonance" [ant:
       resolution]
    6: activity leading to skilled behavior [syn: training,
       preparation, grooming]
    7: preparatory school work done outside school (especially at
       home) [syn: homework, prep, preparation]
    8: the act of preparing something (as food) by the application
       of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who
       have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of
       meals to his wife" [syn: cooking, cookery, preparation]