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 timing couldn’t be better, with the offense about to be turned over to quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whose preseason knee injury last year prevented him from playing as a rookie. —Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2025

Currently, Clark is out of season but the Indiana Fever will kick things off with a preseason matchup against the Washington Mystics on May 3. —Natasha Dye, People.com, 24 Apr. 2025

The game will take place July 31 at 5 p.m. PDT to open the NFL preseason. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025

Patrick also called play-by-play for Maryland football and basketball (1975-78) and NFL preseason games for Washington from 1975 to 1982. —Zach Powell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preseason

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