debut

1 of 2

noun

de·​but ˈdā-ˌbyü How to pronounce debut (audio)
dā-ˈbyü
variants or less commonly début
1
: a first appearance
made her singing debut
the writer's debut novel
2
: a formal entrance into society
in honor of their daughter's debut

debut

2 of 2

verb

debuted; debuting; debuts

intransitive verb

: to make a first appearance or a formal entrance into society : to make a debut

transitive verb

: to present to the public for the first time : introduce
debut a new product

Examples of debut in a Sentence

Noun my debut as a pianist He made his singing debut at a very young age. She is making her television debut. Verb The singer debuted 10 years ago, at the age of 15. The car debuted 30 years ago. The computer will soon be debuting in stores across the country. The network debuts a new sitcom tonight.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Sifan Chen’s Menswear Balances Chaos and Restraint This season saw the debut of Sifan Chen’s menswear label Chén Sifan. Vogue, 6 Apr. 2024 Director Robert Eggers' feature debut plays on the specter of witchcraft for a slow-burn psychological thriller that makes colonial fears relevant to modern viewers. Megan McCluskey, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024 The provocative debut also hit festivals in Chicago, Montclair, Morelia, Santa Barbara and Sarasota. Matt Donnelly, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024 Good in Bed, Weiner’s literary debut, is in development with Kaling to star in and produce along with Good Fear Content, with the novel’s writer executive producing. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024 The event is the debut of Daley Ranch Discussions With Friends, which is expected to happen quarterly. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024 Trending on Billboard His eponymous fourth studio album arrives four years after Anniversary, which marked the fifth anniversary of his debut album Trapsoul. Heran Mamo, Billboard, 5 Apr. 2024 On Monday, the musician announced a slate of tour dates scheduled for May, June, and July 2024 in support of his debut album, The First Time, released in November 2023. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2024 Brisket Taco Hurtado Barbecue made its debut at Globe Life Field with Arlington Eats in 2022 and became the official barbecue partner of the Rangers in 2023 with a standalone location at section 141. Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
Cowboy Carter’s launch is also Beyoncé’s biggest week, by units, since her Lemonade album debuted at No. 1 with 653,000 units (mostly from traditional album sales) on the May 14, 2016, chart. Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 7 Apr. 2024 It’s been a flop When Amazon debuted cashier-less technology, it was hailed as the future of retail. Bryan Mena, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024 Let’s credit debuting feature director Arkasha Stevenson (a former photographer for this paper) with the stylishness to pull off a potent sense of atmosphere and the kind of lovely period detail that deep studio pockets can fund but rarely have cause to summon. Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024 One year after Universal Pictures debuted the first look at footage from his upcoming two-part musical Wicked at CinemaCon, Jon M. Chu is heading back to Las Vegas for the National Association of Theater Owners’ official convention. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024 The show, which debuted on TV2 Norway earlier this year, has already been granted a second season. John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024 Farley had previously put a lot of hope in Ford’s lineup of electric vehicles led by its electric truck, the F-150 Lightning, which debuted in 2022. Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024 The show will be featured throughout the weekend at various times including Friday at 3:30 p.m., Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. On Saturday, Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet’s 410 sprint car tour will debut at Texas Motor Speedway. Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Apr. 2024 Mifepristone debuted in France, its home country, and China in 1988. Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'debut.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

French début, from débuter to begin, from Middle French desbuter to play first, from des- de- + but starting point, goal — more at butt entry 2

First Known Use

Noun

1751, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1830, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of debut was in 1751

Dictionary Entries Near debut

Cite this Entry

“Debut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debut. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

debut

1 of 2 noun
1
: a first public appearance
my debut as a pianist
2
: a formal entrance into society

debut

2 of 2 verb
1
: to make a debut
2
: to present to society for the first time
debut a new product

More from Merriam-Webster on debut

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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