as in prelude
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event
the opening of the performing arts center proved to be a curtain-raiser for the rebirth of the city's downtown
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Recent Examples of curtain-raiser
Neither outfit managed to find the back of the net in their curtain-raiser and collide at the London Stadium, aiming to finally get off the mark.
—
Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
In the past 14 years, only once has the winner of the traditional season curtain-raiser gone on to lift the Premier League title (Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side, who pipped Liverpool by a solitary point in 2018-19).
—James Pearce, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2025
The Commission’s proposal for the next budget period - which acts as a curtain-raiser for future negotiation and sets the likely tone for what will be the final budget - has already generated a lot of controversy and seen policy analysts scrambling to understand what’s coming.
—Frey Lindsay, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
This setting serves as a high-stakes curtain-raiser for the season.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
The curtain-raiser for the 2025 tennis season.
—Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
In the past 14 years, only once has the winner of the traditional season curtain-raiser gone on to lift the Premier League title (Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side, who pipped Liverpool by a solitary point in 2018-19).
—James Pearce, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2025
The Commission’s proposal for the next budget period - which acts as a curtain-raiser for future negotiation and sets the likely tone for what will be the final budget - has already generated a lot of controversy and seen policy analysts scrambling to understand what’s coming.
—Frey Lindsay, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
This setting serves as a high-stakes curtain-raiser for the season.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
The curtain-raiser for the 2025 tennis season.
—Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curtain-raiser
Noun
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This is especially true when considering its journey through fickle and quick-witted Gemini, a prelude of what’s to come after its official debut on July 7 for the first time in 84 years.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
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That sweep of the Red Sox was just a prelude to six additional series for the Orioles over the season’s final six weeks that could alter the playoff picture in two different leagues.—
Dan Freedman,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The sheriff's office preliminary determined that the body belonged to the missing teenager.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Aug. 2025
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The latest poll shows Wu beating Kraft in the September 9 preliminary by 30 points, or 59.8% to 29.6% for Kraft.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
26 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Curtain-raiser.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curtain-raiser. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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