teaser

American  

[tee-zer] / ˈti zər /

noun

1. a person or thing that teases.

2. an advertisement that lures customers or clients by offering a bonus, gift, or the like.

3. 1. Also called tease,.  Also called teaser ad.  Television. a short, impressionistic image, promotional video, or audio spot that reveals very little about the product or company being advertised and is presented to generate interest in advance of the primary advertising campaign.

   2. Also called teaser trailer,.  Also called trailer tease.  Movies. a short, edited promotional video to generate interest in an upcoming film and announce its release date: a teaser is a forerunner to full-length trailers for the film that feature highlights and are shown closer to the film’s distribution date.

   3. Also called bumper tease.  Television. bumper.

4. Informal. tease.

5. Theater. a drapery or flat piece across the top of the proscenium arch that masks the flies and that, together with the tormentors, forms a frame for the stage opening.

6. Printing, Journalism. kicker.

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teaser British  

/ ˈtiːzə /

noun

1. a person who teases

2. a preliminary advertisement in a campaign that attracts attention by making people curious to know what product is being advertised

3. a difficult question

4. vet science a vasectomized male animal, such as an ox, used to detect oestrus in females

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Etymology

Origin of teaser

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English teser “machine for teasing wool”; see tease, -er ¹

Explanation

The nearly impossible puzzle your math teacher gives for extra credit can be called a teaser — a tricky problem to solve. A mystifying problem is one kind of teaser — another is a person who loves to tease. Your nose-grabbing, practical joking uncle is a teaser, especially if he enjoys gently mocking or making fun of you. Yet another teaser is the kind that opens a TV show — sort of a sneak preview of the story to come. This is closest to the original meaning of teaser, from 1934, "an introductory advertisement or sample."

Example Sentences

Teaser videos include depictions of babies on water skis and a runway model whose dress features an inner tube and giant cigarette butts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

Teaser videos or photographs for accounts are often promoted on Twitter and Instagram.

From BBC • May 26, 2021

Yes, it’s New Star Wars Teaser Trailer day, the day when you can watch a new Star Wars teaser trailer.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2018

This toy — the Cat Is Good Chirping Teaser — bills itself as a feathered toy, ball toy, spring toy and chirping toy.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2017

And homeward we all—including Tom Jecks, who soon recovered from his injury—returned in safety, HMS Teaser steaming gently one summer day into Plymouth Sound; and this is her log—my log—written by a boy.

From Blue Jackets The Log of the Teaser by Handforth, W.B.

Related Words

• conundrum
• enigma
• problem
• question
• riddle
• secrecy
• subtlety
• thriller