"preliminary" in the noun sense
1. preliminary, prelim
a minor match preceding the main event
2. preliminary, overture, prelude
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
"training is a necessary preliminary to employment"
"drinks were the overture to dinner"
"preliminary" in the adjective sense
1. preliminary
denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important
"a preliminary investigation"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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