debut
Americannoun
-
debuts
plural
-
a first public appearance on a stage, on television, etc.
-
the first appearance of something, as a new product.
-
(of a young woman) a formal introduction and entrance into society, as at an annual ball.
-
the beginning of a profession, career, etc.
verb (used without object)
-
debuts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
debuted,
past participle, past
-
debuting
present participle
-
to make a debut, as in society or in a performing art.
She decided to debut with several other violinists.
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to appear for the first time, as on the market.
A new product will debut next month.
verb (used with object)
-
debuts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
debuted,
past participle, past
-
debuting
present participle
-
to perform (something) for the first time before an audience.
He didn't know when the orchestra would debut his new symphony.
-
to place on the market for the first time; introduce.
adjective
noun
-
-
the first public appearance of an actor, musician, etc, or the first public presentation of a show
-
( as modifier )
debut album
-
-
the presentation of a debutante
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
debutsimple
-
debutssimple
-
have debutedperfect
-
has debutedperfect
-
am debutingprogressive
-
are debutingprogressive
-
is debutingprogressive
-
have been debutingperfect progressive
-
has been debutingperfect progressive
Past
-
debutedsimple
-
had debutedperfect
-
was debutingprogressive
-
were debutingprogressive
-
had been debutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of debut
1745–55; < French début, derivative of débuter to make the first stroke in a game, make one's first appearance, equivalent to dé- de- + -buter, verbal derivative of but goal; see butt 2
Explanation
A debut is a first appearance, a launch, or public introduction. So before you make your big debut at the office, check and make sure you don't have spinach in your teeth. Perhaps you’ve heard of debutantes making their official debut into society, or actresses and actors making their debut on stage. A fun fact: debut and premiere are often thought to be interchangeable, but they’re not. A debut, as you now know, is a first public appearance. But a premiere, while also a “first,” isn't necessarily live. When a movie opens or an interview is broadcast for the first time, they're called premieres.
Vocabulary lists containing debut
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It was always going to be a difficult Rugby League World Cup debut for Wales, who had lost their previous two games against England by a combined score of 144-0.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
The schedule reveal show included a number of announcements, including the debut of a concept called Banana Ball 360 on June 26 at Notre Dame Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Preorders for the iPhone Duo began Friday, marking Apple’s debut in a foldable phone market largely dominated by Samsung and Google.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Her debut performance on Tuesday lasted barely 15 minutes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Shirley spent the weekend after Thanksgiving writing a ten-page letter to her cousins in Chinese describing her debut onstage as a turkey.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
But Pocognoli has not shied away from big calls so far - his initial bold squad and his offering of three debuts in two games stand out.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
In the second quarter of the year, the biggest U.S. banks saw surging profits thanks to a boom in stock-market debuts, mergers and acquisitions and trading activity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Counting his four seasons with San Francisco, Harbaugh is 6-0 in NFL season debuts as a head coach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
"Union Town," which debuts Wednesday at the festival, is the third in a trilogy about worker struggles by the Oscar-winning US director, following 1976's "Harlan County U.S.A." and 1990's "American Dream."
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
"Tonight was one of the strongest debuts I think we've had since my maman was still alive."
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Sakurai is helped by the fact that he clearly loves the Capcom video game series, which debuted in 1987.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
So far, Katie Zacharia, who debuted as the White House’s top spokesperson on Tuesday, is looking like the latter.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
The play, which debuted in New York, will feature McKellen and Bridgerton star Golda Rosheuvel in 3D holographic form, which was achieved using 52 cameras filming them from multiple angles.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
When “A Different World” debuted in 1987, the world looked very different.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
These images were now rapidly available thanks to wirephoto services, which had debuted in Life in the month that Pollard, Howard, and Smith formed their partnership.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
The company is also debuting LendScore Arc, an AI-powered credit risk model that learns from the order and timing of a borrower’s transactions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Also debuting over the weekend was "Primetime," starring Robert Pattinson as reality TV host Chris Hansen.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Dolly’s Dog Treats are on the calendar for early 2027, along with Dolly Bedding & Home Decor debuting in the third quarter of next year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Yet her latest documentary, debuting on Netflix Wednesday, is “Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing,” which portrays the airplane maker’s continuing malfeasance as not just greedy but malevolent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
At Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, players were debuting numbered uniforms: Lou Gehrig wore No. 4; Babe Ruth, about to hit his five hundredth home run, wore No. 3.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
