Definition of "prepper"

‘We have a vacancy at a very nice little prepper in North Yorkshire. Cundall Manor.’

2010, Stephen Fry, The Fry Chronicles

Preppers are keen not to be seen as survivalists – the stereotypically anti-government, wood-dwelling, gun-toting hermits of past decades. Rather than isolating themselves in preparation for Armageddon, preppers tend to have normal jobs, mingle with their communities and take a more relaxed view about looming disasters.

2010 March 26, Madeleine Morris, “Americans get set for disaster day”, in BBC News‎

After all, Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp says it was always meant to be a utility: “It’s a tool people use to plan their futures,” he told ReadWrite earlier this year. Preppers just happen to think the future looks bleak.

2014 May 15, Colette Shade, “How to Prep for the Apocalypse on Pinterest”, in The Atlantic‎

Earlier today, I found myself taking it down and flicking through its index — “handcranked lanterns”; “pandemic”; “panic, avoidance of” — in a manner that felt remarkably different to how I had flicked through it in the past. The themes and motifs of the prepper movement are having a moment in the mainstream.

2020 March 21, Mark O’Connell, “This Is Not the End of the World and You Are Not a Prepper”, in The New York Times‎

The preppers were living in flush times in a beautiful region, but it seemed like the first thing they did with money was steel for the apocalypse.

2020 April 24, Nellie Bowles, “I Used to Make Fun of Silicon Valley Preppers. Then I Became One.”, in The New York Times‎