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

This year’s premiere should get a strong boost, as most of the country will get CBS coverage of a late afternoon match-up between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, two contenders in the highly competitive NFC North. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

And because everything has to be confusing, the NBC lineup opens with a Wednesday night season premiere. — Takashi Williams, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Verb

Season 2 of Guy Ritchie‘s glossy crime drama premiered on September 3 on Netflix and, after seven days of streaming, the first episode was watched by 3 million British viewers. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2026

The Netflix series premiered in April 2025 and spent five weeks on the Netflix Top 10 but received mixed reviews, getting a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. — Selome Hailu, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026

Adjective

Paramount has already greenlit a 13-episode Book 2, the exact premiere date of which will be announced at a later date. — Joe Otterson, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026

The stakes are even higher for this year’s Dancing With the Stars contestants with a double elimination during season 35 premiere week. — Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 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