preliminaries

plural of preliminary
as in preludes
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event a meeting to discuss seating arrangements that was merely a preliminary to the formal negotiating sessions

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of preliminaries Used to last-minute quick changes, Becker recalls preliminaries from this year’s state pageant. Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026 But all of that was just the preliminaries for Grady Emerson. John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 July 2026 The meet continues Thursday, a day consisting largely of women’s preliminaries, followed by men’s finals Friday and women’s finals Saturday. Mike Wilson, New York Times, 11 June 2026 Hernandez, now a Southern Section champion again, along with all the other winners will move onto the CIF preliminaries next Saturday to face the rest of the state's top female jumpers, with a chance to get back to the state finals. Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026 Tennyson never made it to the Southern Section track preliminaries after winning the league title. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026 The hockey playoffs weren’t affected by the storm and are expected to start on March 2 with Division II preliminaries. Jacob Rousseau, The Providence Journal, 26 Feb. 2026 Switzerland crushed Germany in the men’s curling preliminaries, keeping a consistent lead before ending the game with a score of 8-4. Andrew Greif, NBC news, 17 Feb. 2026 Lower‑demand preliminaries will likely be the most affordable, while high‑profile events—gymnastics finals, swimming finals, track and field, and the opening ceremony—will sit at the top end of the pricing spectrum. Paris Wilson, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preliminaries
overtures
Noun
  • Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller, Brighton’s Carlos Belaba, Botafogo’s Danilo and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson were among them, while overtures were made regarding Victor Froholdt’s availability at Porto.
    George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The United States had been looking for an interlocutor with Cuba and made overtures with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro, according to an exclusive USA TODAY interview in July.
    Rick Jervis, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Preliminaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preliminaries. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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