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”; 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

In the film’s short teaser, Cruise — donning an Ethan Hunt-esque hair and makeup transformation — moves balletically while carrying a shovel.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

The singer also shared a teaser for a remix of her smash hit Mercy on TikTok in March, in her first social media post since 2020.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

The 2008 crisis showed the dangers of rates surging after short teaser periods, but regulations since then have meant ARMs now have longer initial fixed periods, providing a bigger buffer before monthly payments jump.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

As a teaser trailer released late last year noted, with a bit of cribbing from Peter Jackson, “the age of toys is over.”

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026

She wasn’t a big teaser, but sometimes she did tease, and then she called it “ribbing.”

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Related Words

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