preliminaries

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Earlier, during the preliminaries, someone had led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance—first to the American flag, then to the state of Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

It was so hot on Saturday that a more than three-hour heat delay was imposed in the middle of the Southern Section Division 3 track and field preliminaries at Yorba Linda.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2025

Aside from the bartender, there was only one person actually braving the record-breaking 110-degree heat on the roof and watching UFC preliminaries on the wall-mounted TV: a gregarious, stocky, bespectacled older man named Mike.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2024

After a successful debut at Tokyo 2020, the skateboarding got under way in Paris with Britons Sky Brown and Lola Tambling competing in the women's park preliminaries.

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2024

Without any preliminaries, he tapped me roughly on my chest and then said gruffly, “There is water in your lung.”

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela