Meaning & use
preseason
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The period before the official sports season when teams train and play practice games.
Grammar: Usually used with 'the' or 'a': during the preseason, a long preseason.
Patterns
- during the preseason
- in preseason
- a preseason game/match
The team worked on fitness during the preseason.
He injured his knee in a preseason game.
Preseason starts in July for most football clubs.
adjectivebefore a noun
Happening or played before the official sports season begins.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: a preseason tournament, preseason training.
Patterns
- preseason training
- a preseason friendly
- preseason rankings
They scheduled a preseason match against a local team.
Preseason training begins next week.
The preseason rankings were released yesterday.
Word forms
| plural | preseasons |
|---|
Common combinations
- preseason game
- The preseason game ended in a draw.
- preseason training
- Preseason training is often very intense.
- during the preseason
- He scored three goals during the preseason.
- preseason friendly
- They played a preseason friendly in Spain.
Synonyms and how they differ
- exhibition season
- Used mainly in American English for the period of practice games before the real season.
Opposites
Word family
- season noun
- The main period when official games are played.
- postseason noun
- The games played after the regular season, usually as playoffs.
Practice
The team is training hard ___ the preseason.
Choose one answer.
'During' fits because it shows the time within the preseason period. 'At' would need a specific point, not a period.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “preseason”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.