preview
Americannoun
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previews
plural
-
an earlier or previous view.
-
an advance showing of a motion picture, play, etc., before its public opening.
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an advance showing of brief scenes in a motion picture, television show, etc., for purposes of advertisement.
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anything that gives an advance idea or impression of something to come.
verb (used with object)
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previews,
present (3rd person singular)
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previewed,
past participle, past
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previewing
present participle
noun
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an advance or preliminary view or sight
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an advance showing before public presentation of a film, art exhibition, etc, usually before an invited audience of celebrities and journalists
-
a public performance of a play before the official first night
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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previewsimple
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previewssimple
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have previewedperfect
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has previewedperfect
-
am previewingprogressive
-
are previewingprogressive
-
is previewingprogressive
-
have been previewingperfect progressive
-
has been previewingperfect progressive
Past
-
previewedsimple
-
had previewedperfect
-
was previewingprogressive
-
were previewingprogressive
-
had been previewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of preview
First recorded in 1600–10; 1920–25 preview for def. 2; pre- + view
Explanation
A preview gives you a look at something that hasn't been released yet. You see lots of previews at the movies. If you've been to a movie lately, chances are you saw plenty of previews — little highlights of upcoming movies that are designed to make you want to see them. Any little snippet designed to get you excited about something to come can be called a preview. If you're writing a novel, you could give someone a preview by reading them a few lines. And you're lucky enough to see a show before it opens to the public, you're previewing it.
Vocabulary lists containing preview
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Power Prefix: Pre-
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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:
Hammer Museum founder Armand Hammer’s private art collection will go up for auction after a preview exhibition at Sotheby’s L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Annual school photographs are a rite of passage but, with technology now able to remove watermarks from preview images in seconds, some parents are bypassing the payment process altogether.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
The disruptions it could wreak on everything from air travel to farming preview what a normal year may look like decades from now if carbon emissions continue unabated.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
The Marana landfill is likely a preview of the future of operating machinery in dusty and hazardous conditions, reports Bob Tita.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
This is a good preview of what I have to look forward to in New York, Lydia thought.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Though the Daily Mail also previews Burnham's speech on Tuesday, it focuses on the prime minister's intention to set out plans for greater state control of water, energy and housing.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Like several of Tuesday's papers, it also previews the upcoming season of the Celebrity Traitors, due to start on 1 October.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
In November, Amazon began offering enterprise previews for Leo, and plans to begin commercial service this year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Broadway previews for “Dolly: A True Original Musical” will begin in December, with opening night scheduled for Jan. 19, 2027.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The previews for movies coming to theaters this spring.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Accompanied by their wives, the leaders joined Charles and Queen Camilla at the museum, where they previewed the landmark Bayeux Tapestry exhibition ahead of its public opening next week.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Much of what is expected at the state trial – the prosecutor's case, Mangione's defence, and obstacles both parties face – were previewed in months of court filings and arguments, but some questions remain unanswered.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Zuckerberg earlier published a shorter version of the essay as an opinion column in The Wall Street Journal and previewed some of his arguments in several media interviews, including one in the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Two thoughts: First, we saw this split previewed in Bruen, with the public defenders’ amicus brief.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
Engravings of the Arctic from his upcoming book were previewed in the news media, increasing its soaring advance sales.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
He said the central bank was no longer in the business of previewing its decisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Welker was previewing Sunday’s edition of “Meet the Press” on NBC’s Washington station WRC, when she made the remarks about Trump’s endorsements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
The gains come despite Alibaba previewing its new artificial-intelligence model—the second time in a week that China has flexed its advances in AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Finance, technology and government leaders had expressed concerns about its public rollout, following a private release in April for previewing and testing vulnerabilities within its own system.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
All afternoon she had been preoccupied with previewing Darlene’s dress rehearsal.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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