premiere

1 of 3

noun

pre·​miere pri-ˈmyer How to pronounce premiere (audio) -ˈmir How to pronounce premiere (audio)
-ˈmē-ər;
ˌpri-mē-ˈer
variants or less commonly première
plural premieres also premières
1
: a first performance or exhibition
the premiere of a play
the show's premiere episode
2
: the chief actress of a theatrical cast

premiere

2 of 3

verb

pre·​miere
variants or less commonly première or premier
pri-ˈmyer How to pronounce premiere (audio) -ˈmir How to pronounce premiere (audio)
-ˈmē-ər;
ˌpri-mē-ˈer
premiered also premièred; premiering also premièring

intransitive verb

1
: to have a first public performance
2
: to appear for the first time as a star performer

transitive verb

: to give a first public performance of

premiere

3 of 3

adjective

pre·​miere pri-ˈmyer How to pronounce premiere (audio) -ˈmir How to pronounce premiere (audio)
-ˈmē-ər;
ˌpri-mē-ˈer
: premier
In addition to the sporting events, Lillehammer also offers one of Norway's premiere cultural sites in the Maihaugen Open Air Museum …William E. Schmidt

Examples of premiere in a Sentence

Noun The movie will have its premiere next week. Verb The movie premieres next week.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Swift’s attendance at the premiere comes just a month after Bey supported Tay at her Eras Tour film premiere in Los Angeles in October. Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 4 Dec. 2023 Four years later, in 1987, Reagan would fly to Reykjavik, Iceland to iron out that ICM treaty with Soviet premiere Mikhail Gorbachev that resulted in the dismantlement of thousands of nuclear missiles. Benjamin Svetkey, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Dec. 2023 Jenner and Bieber have been close for over a decade after meeting at The Hunger Games premiere in 2012 and being introduced to each other by Kendall’s sister Kylie Jenner. Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 4 Dec. 2023 Swift showed her support for the musician who made a special appearance of her own at the Los Angeles premiere of the concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour back in October. Carita Rizzo, Rolling Stone, 4 Dec. 2023 This comes after a big travel week for Swift, who recently flew to England to attend the London premiere of Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé on November 30. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 4 Dec. 2023 Rolling off premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, the crowdpleaser has been acquired by MFA+ Distribution (Germany, Austria), Edko Films (Hong Kong, Macau), Officine Ubu (Italy) and Maxam Inc. (Japan). Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 1 Dec. 2023 Lively jetted off to London for the premiere of Beyoncé's Renaissance film — likely alongside her BFF Taylor Swift, who was also in attendance — and wore her hair in full, tousled waves artfully tossed to one side. By Aliza Kelly, Allure, 1 Dec. 2023 On Sunday, Bell — who voices Anna opposite Gad as Olaf, Menzel as Elsa and Groff, 38, as Kristoff — shared a few snapshots from the premiere, as well as some additional photos with Menzel. Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2023
Verb
Beginning with Dead Pigs, Cathy Yan’s feature directorial debut premiered at 2018’s Sundance Film Festival garnering Rysdahl and the rest of the cast a special jury prize for ensemble acting. Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2023 Focused on post-coal Appalachia, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023 and received rave reviews but ultimately did not snag a distribution deal. Addie Morfoot, Variety, 6 Dec. 2023 Longtime host Cat Deeley is also set to return for the upcoming season, which premieres March 4. Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 5 Dec. 2023 The forthcoming music video — which will premiere on Dec. 7 at Booby Trap on the River in Miami — will dig deeper into their comical adventures. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 5 Dec. 2023 Soprano Angela Meade is herself a seasoned Ermione, who has sung the role in Lyon, Moscow, Paris and the very house in Naples where the opera premiered. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023 Heavyweight, which premiered its most recent season in October, was just listed as a best podcast of 2023 by the New York Times. Ashley Carman, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2023 Master Chief, the Spartan hero from Halo, will continue his live-action adventures with two episodes of its second season premiering worldwide on February 8th next year. Wes Davis, The Verge, 2 Dec. 2023 Since the first installment premiered in 2008, the star behind Edward Cullen has been brutally honest about his distaste for his role and the movies’ plotlines, which were adapted from novels by Stephanie Meyer. Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023
Adjective
In addition to revealing the winners in 31 categories, the event has other big reveals in store — including premiere announcements and trailer drops — plus live music performances and celebrity appearances. Todd Spangler, Variety, 7 Dec. 2023 After keeping their relationship under wraps for a few months, the actress and musician attended a premiere event for the comedy crime film Spring Breakers in March 2013. Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 6 Dec. 2023 Casting is underway for three female law partners and Kardashian’s love interest with production expected to begin in late 2024 and a premiere date of spring 2025. Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 4 Dec. 2023 Theresa Nist, who celebrated her 70th birthday on the premiere episode, was the last woman standing on Thursday’s live finale. Roxanne Roberts, Washington Post, 1 Dec. 2023 This painfully cool duo are the magic makers behind Morocco’s premiere event planning firm Boutique Souk, which has produced such events as Poppy Delevingne’s wedding, and countless destination fashion shows for the likes of Chanel, Dior, and more. Todd Plummer, Vogue, 24 Nov. 2023 Ahead of the film’s Dec. 1 release, Beyoncé is slated to hold two special premiere events: The U.S. premiere in L.A. on Nov. 25 and the world premiere in London on Nov. 30. Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2023 Keep reading for more about Fargo season five’s premiere date and airtime, how to watch the TV show with and without cable and more. Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2023 No premiere date is set, but Season 7 will launch in 2024. Joe Otterson, Variety, 15 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'premiere.' 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

(sense 1) borrowed from French première, short for première représentation "first performance"; (sense 2) probably noun derivative of premiere entry 3

Verb

verb derivative of premiere entry 1

Adjective

alteration of premier entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1927, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Adjective

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of premiere was in 1768

Dictionary Entries Near premiere

Cite this Entry

“Premiere.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/premiere. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

premiere

1 of 2 noun
: a first performance or showing
premiere of a play

premiere

2 of 2 adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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