premiere

1 of 3

noun

pre·​miere pri-ˈmyer  -ˈmir 

-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 pri-ˈmyer  -ˈmir 

-ˈmē-ər;

ˌpri-mē-ˈer

variants or less commonly première or premier

premiered also premièred; premiering also premièring

intransitive verb

1

: to have a first public performance

The movie/play will premiere next week.

2

: to appear for the first time as a star performer

He premiered in the title role on Broadway.

transitive verb

: to give a first public performance of

The movie was premiered at the film festival.

premiere

3 of 3

adjective

pre·​miere pri-ˈmyer  -ˈmir 

-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

After Baldoni and Lively did not pose together on the red carpet at the film’s premiere that August, both internet speculation and behind-the-scenes maneuvering picked up quickly. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 4 May 2026

Series are organized chronologically by 2026 premiere date, with the most recent at the top. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 4 May 2026

Verb

The wrenching documentary about a father’s desperate search for his missing teenage son won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece in March and premiered in World Cinema Documentary Competition at Sundance. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 9 May 2026

His case is now being featured in season 2 of Netflix’s Worst Ex Ever, which premiered on May 6. —Aya Al-Hakim, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026

Adjective

Despite a strong premiere week with over 10 million viewers across various platforms, the network ultimately canceled DMV in favor of pilots for new shows, like Cupertino and Einstein, the latter starring Criminal Minds alum Matthew Gray Gubler. —Alyssa Modos, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026

The season will stream in its entirety on premiere day. —Erin Jensen, USA Today, 8 May 2026

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

Phrases Containing premiere

• world premiere

Rhymes for premiere

• adhere
• ameer
• amir
• appear
• arrear
• astir
• austere
• career
• cashier
• cohere
• compere
• emir

Kids Definition

premiere

1 of 2 noun

pre·​miere pri-ˈmye(ə)r  -ˈmi(ə)r 

: a first performance or showing

premiere of a play

premiere

2 of 2 adjective

: premier