preview

1 of 2

verb

pre·​view ˈprē-ˌvyü 

previewed; previewing; previews

transitive verb

1

: to see beforehand

specifically : to view or to show in advance of public presentation

2

: to give a preliminary survey of

previewer

ˈprē-ˌvyü-ər 

noun

preview

2 of 2

noun

1

: an advance statement, sample, or survey

2

: an advance showing or performance (as of a movie or play)

3

or less commonly prevue

ˈprē-ˌvyü 

: a selected group of scenes shown to advertise a movie, television show, etc.

called also trailer

Examples of preview in a Sentence

Verb

The designers will preview their new lines at the fashion show.

They previewed the upcoming football season.

You can preview the page before you print it.

Noun

We saw the movie at a special preview.

Before the movie starts they always show previews of coming attractions.

There are previews of the next week's episode at the end of each show.

They gave a preview of the upcoming football season.

The magazine includes a preview of the newest fall fashions.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Ahead of Thursday's episode (9 p.m. ET), Bassett and Jackson preview what's to come of Athena's impromptu cruise. —Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 19 Mar. 2025

Zeldin’s cost argument Zeldin previewed his arguments in a news release on March 12. —Patrick Parenteau, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2025

Noun

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid mission released its first batch of survey data on Wednesday (March 19), including a preview of its deep fields revealing hundreds of thousands of galaxies in different shapes and sizes. —Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 21 Mar. 2025

Here’s a preview of what to expect when visiting the new Academy Museum exhibit, which runs March 23-June 10, 2027. —Matt Minton, Variety, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing preview

• sneak preview

Rhymes for preview

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

Kids Definition

preview

1 of 2 verb

pre·​view ˈprē-ˌvyü 

: to view or show in advance

preview

2 of 2 noun

1

: a showing of something (as a movie) before regular showings

2

also prevue

-ˌvyü 

: a showing of bits from a movie that is to be shown in the near future