prelude
Americannoun
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a preliminary to an action, event, condition, or work of broader scope and higher importance.
- Synonyms:
- beginning, opening, introduction
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any action, event, comment, etc. that precedes something else.
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Music.
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a relatively short, independent instrumental composition, free in form and resembling an improvisation.
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a piece that precedes a more important movement.
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the overture to an opera.
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an independent piece, of moderate length, sometimes used as an introduction to a fugue.
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music opening a church service; an introductory voluntary.
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verb (used with object)
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to serve as a prelude or introduction to.
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to introduce by a prelude.
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to play as a prelude.
verb (used without object)
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to serve as a prelude.
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to give a prelude.
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to play a prelude.
noun
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a piece of music that precedes a fugue, or forms the first movement of a suite, or an introduction to an act in an opera, etc
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(esp for piano) a self-contained piece of music
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something serving as an introduction or preceding event, occurrence, etc
verb
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to serve as a prelude to (something)
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(tr) to introduce by a prelude
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preludernoun
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prelusionnoun
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preludialadjective
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preludiousadjective
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prelusiveadjective
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unpreludedadjective
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preludiouslyadverb
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prelusivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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preludesimple
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preludessimple
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have preludedperfect
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has preludedperfect
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am preludingprogressive
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are preludingprogressive
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is preludingprogressive
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have been preludingperfect progressive
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has been preludingperfect progressive
Past
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preludedsimple
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had preludedperfect
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was preludingprogressive
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were preludingprogressive
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had been preludingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prelude
1555–65; (noun) < Medieval Latin praelūdium, equivalent to prae- pre- + -lūdium play; compare Latin lūdus play; (v.) < Latin praelūdere to play beforehand
Explanation
A prelude is an introductory action, event, or performance that comes before a bigger or more momentous one. It is made of up the prefix pre- meaning "before," and the Latin root ludere meaning "play." Speakers of old school French and Latin understood a prelude to be the notes that they would play or sing to warm up or test an instrument. Today preludes are more like introductions than practice, but you can still think of them as small warm ups to the main events. Preludes are often used in classical music, as well as in novels, to set the tone for the rest of the orchestral piece or story.
Vocabulary lists containing prelude
"Two Kinds" (from The Joy Luck Club) by Amy Tan
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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
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"Total Loss Weekend" by Don Delillo
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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:
This shameful incident, from which Sumner never fully recovered, served as a prelude to the Civil War.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Analysts widely believe Monday’s announcement is a prelude to eventual sales of both Comcast and NBCUniversal, a theory that Comcast rejects.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
He called for a comprehensive ceasefire as a prelude to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Yet while an increase in wholesale prices is a prelude of sorts to what consumers end up paying for goods and services, the relationship is far from exact.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
I knew this to be a prelude to some health-related inquiry.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
He started playing piano at the age of two and, at just 17, gave a remarkable two-and-a-half-hour concert featuring the 24 preludes and fugues by composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2024
The novenario meals were preludes to the funeral reception, held at Torres Banquet Hall near St. Alphonsus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
You might know two or three of his chorale preludes.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
It hosted world gymnastics and track titles, both of which were preludes to the World Cup, which is costing the country an estimated $220 billion.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2022
Too impatient to endure a long range diet, he went on radical diets that seemed like preludes to famine.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
The Taliban did not issue a formal statement on the anniversary of the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that preluded them being driven from power 20 years earlier.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 11, 2021
Similar marches have since preluded Pride events across the country.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 6, 2019
Seventy years later, it was lost to the modern urges that preluded the Seattle Century 21 World’s Fair.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2018
Last week came a Luther Day which was notable because it preluded bigger celebrations, to be held Nov. 10 on the 450th anniversary of Martin Luther's birth.
From Time Magazine Archive
The book which followed L'Éducation had been preluded, twenty years earlier, by some fragments in L'Artiste, a periodical edited by Gautier.
From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century by Saintsbury, George
They were preluding a Pan-Pacific Buddhists' Conference to be held in Tokyo in 1934.
From Time Magazine Archive
A march, blown from Egyptian trumpets, followed, preluding the dance of priestesses which precedes the tenor's return.
From The Perfume of Eros: A Fifth Avenue Incident by Saltus, Edgar
This is what I heard: The dark-skinned youth, who looked like the priestly and uninteresting Siloti, sat down and began idly preluding.
From Old Fogy His Musical Opinions and Grotesques by Huneker, James
What are called the interpellations continued, when suddenly Lord Palmerston reappeared; embarrassed, with a faint smile; addressed the House; and after various preluding, announced the withdrawal of the Motion of Censure.
From The Letters of Queen Victoria : A Selection from Her Majesty's Correspondence between the Years 1837 and 1861 Volume 3, 1854-1861 by Benson, Arthur Christopher
Again atmosphere is evoked and the mood achieved by the lyre preluding of the poet.
From Franz Liszt by Huneker, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
