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

The Sooners, unranked in the preseason, finished the year on one of the all-time great runs — beating the regular-season and tournament champs from the ACC (Georgia Tech), Big 12 (Kansas) and SEC (Georgia) en route to an unlikely national title. — Mitch Light, New York Times, 23 June 2026

And franchises in the early stages of a retool — like the Dolphins — have even more incentive to do that, as long as the young players show both a pulse and promise in training camp and preseason. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 23 June 2026

Yet, chances are good that once the 2026 World Cup is completed, that green grass will be torn out and the artificial turf will be back in place for the preseason. — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 22 June 2026

The UConn women’s basketball team will host a fellow 2026 Final Four participant in a preseason exhibition ahead of this year’s campaign. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preseason

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