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”; see 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

Ironic, considering the first film’s teaser trailer was simply a sequence from the movie, condensed and re-edited, but told prospective viewers infinitely more about the film without having to say anything narrative-specific.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026

An early promotional teaser has met with mixed reception online.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

These remarks were resurfaced recently after the first “Lanterns” teaser was released earlier this month and some fans noticed a lack of green.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

Home buyers are taking advantage of the lower initial teaser rates while waiting for long-term fixed rates to drop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

He was taking my metamorphosis as a brain teaser, like the ones in the back of his sci-fi magazines.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

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