Morphemes in “preheating”
“preheating” has 3 morphemes: pre- + heat + -ing.
pre
prefix
+
heat
root
+
ing
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are pre- + heat + -ing.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre- | derivational prefix | bound | before |
| heat | free root | free | a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature |
| -ing | inflectional suffix | bound | ongoing action (present participle) / gerund |
How the word is built
heat → preheat → preheating
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “heat” is where the chain starts.
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Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "preheating"?
"preheating" has three morphemes: pre- + heat + -ing.
How do you break "preheating" into morphemes?
pre- + heat + -ing. The root is "heat"; pre- is a derivational prefix, -ing is a inflectional suffix.
What is the root word of "preheating"?
The root of "preheating" is "heat", built up as heat → preheat → preheating.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.