preseason

noun

pre·​sea·​son ˌprē-ˈsē-zᵊn 

ˈprē-ˌsē-zᵊn

plural preseasons

: a period of time immediately preceding a season

tourists who visit during the preseason

especially : a training period preceding a sport's regular season in which teams compete in unofficial games

The preseason starts in two weeks.

performed well in (the) preseason

Quarterback John Friesz was lost for the year in the preseason to knee surgery.

—Paul Zimmerman

Dennis Rodman's mysterious boycott finally ended on Monday when he arrived for practice for the first time since the start of preseason.

—Jack McCallum

preseason adjective

preseason football

preseason training

the preseason opener/finale

preseason rankings/polls

the preseason favorite

Examples of preseason in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Related Articles Last night, the team held its first preseason game. —Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 7 May 2025

Starting point guard Jordin Canada also exited the preseason game Wednesday in the first quarter with a right leg injury, potentially widening the door for Sellers — albeit, not in the most positive way. —Katherine Fominykh, Baltimore Sun, 7 May 2025

Brondello expects Stewart to play in Monday’s preseason game against the Toyota Antelopes of the Women’s Japan Basketball League. —Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 7 May 2025

The Valkyries took a loss in their first-ever preseason game, but didn’t go down without a fight. —Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 7 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preseason

• milesian
• partizan
• postseason
• unreason
• reason
• season
• seizin
• treason