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

Unfortunately, McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus during his first preseason game and missed his entire rookie season. —Nick Baumgardner, New York Times, 13 June 2025

Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field on August 24, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025

The first of their four preseason exhibition games will be against the Detroit Lions on July 31 in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. —Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 12 June 2025

And was that to play eight more games, and then get no rest at all, go straight into preseason, and grind another season, and go straight into the World Cup? —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 12 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preseason

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