Is "prepone" a real English word?

Yes — "prepone" is a real, well-formed word, and it's standard in Indian English. It's the logical opposite of "postpone": if you can push a meeting later, why not pull it earlier? But native speakers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia don't use it, and many won't know what it means the first time they hear it.

So on an international team, "prepone" can turn a simple request into a puzzle — or quietly flag you as non-native — even though the word is more logical than the English natives actually use.

The fix isn't to correct anything. It's to reach for the phrasing your colleagues will recognize instantly: "move up", "bring forward", or "pull in".

Examples

Name the specific action instead of using "prepone":

Instead of

"Can we prepone the meeting to Monday?"

Write

"Can we move the meeting up to Monday?"

"Move up" is the everyday native way to shift something earlier — instantly understood on any international team.

Instead of

"Let's prepone the call by an hour."

Write

"Can we bring the call forward an hour?"

"Bring forward" is standard scheduling language in US/UK English; no one has to decode it.

Instead of

"I'd like to prepone the deadline."

Write

"Can we pull the deadline in?"

"Pull in" is how natives talk about tightening a date — natural and clear in any planning conversation.

Common mistakes

Quick summary

Related guides

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