Meaning & use
premiere
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Meanings
nouncountable
The first public performance or showing of a play, film, or other artistic work.
Grammar: Countable: 'a premiere', 'the premieres'.
Patterns
- the premiere of something
- at a premiere
- world premiere
The premiere of the new movie will be held next Friday.
Many celebrities attended the world premiere of the film.
The play's premiere received rave reviews.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To be shown or performed in public for the first time.
Grammar: Can be used with or without an object: 'The film premieres tomorrow' or 'They will premiere the film tomorrow.'
Patterns
- premiere something
- something premieres
The movie will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
The orchestra premiered the new symphony last night.
Her latest play premieres on Broadway in October.
Word forms
| plural | premieres |
|---|---|
| third person singular | premieres |
| past tense | premiered |
| past participle | premiered |
| -ing form | premiering |
Common combinations
- world premiere
- The world premiere attracted global media attention.
- film premiere
- She wore a stunning gown to the film premiere.
- premiere of a play
- The premiere of the play was delayed due to illness.
- premiere at a festival
- The documentary will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Synonyms and how they differ
- debut
- A first appearance or performance; 'premiere' is more specific to artistic works like films and plays.
- first night
- Used mainly for theater; 'premiere' is broader and can apply to films and other works.
Opposites
Word family
- premier adjective
- First in rank or importance; also a noun meaning a prime minister.
Commonly confused: premiere or premier?
premiere vs premier
As a noun, 'premier' means a prime minister or leader; 'premiere' is the first performance. They sound similar but have different meanings.
Practice
The director will ______ his new film at the festival next month.
Choose one answer.
The verb 'premiere' means to show a work for the first time. 'Premier' is a different word (a leader or first in rank), 'premiere at' would need an object like 'the festival', and 'premiering' is the -ing form, which doesn't fit after 'will'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “premiere”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.