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preproduction

American  
[pree-pruh-duhk-shuhn] / ˌpri prəˈdʌk ʃən /

noun

  1. Movies. the steps necessary to prepare a film for production, as casting, choosing locations, and designing sets and costumes.


adjective

  1. occurring before production.

preproduction British  
/ ˌpriːprəˈdʌkʃən /

noun

  1. preliminary work on or trial production of a play, industrial prototype, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. (of a period, model, etc) preliminary; trial

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of preproduction

First recorded in 1935–40; pre- + production

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:

After months of preproduction, “Barrio Triste” was shot over five days in the barrio of El Paraíso, an often-maligned informal settlement.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 13, 2026

Raicek has been busy in preproduction on her play “Fire Season,” which has already been workshopped with actors including Billy Crudup and Amanda Seyfried.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 16, 2026

A late-night voice memo between Baldoni and Lively during the preproduction phase of "It Ends With Us" in 2023 gets leaked.

From Salon Jan. 29, 2025

They began discussing it years ago in its initial preproduction stage before the pandemic, when the project was temporarily scuttled and recast.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 8, 2025

And now the actor is in preproduction for Prime Video’s “Spider-Noir” series, in which he’ll play journalist Robbie Robertson to Nicolas Cage’s 1930s-era Spider-Man.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 20, 2024

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