as in prelude
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event
the parade down Main Street served as the overture for a weekend of fun and festivities
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Recent Examples of overture
As in the Castelnuovo-Tedesco overture, Rustioni guided the transitions of the Tchaikovsky in a way that was dramatic without being overstated.
—
Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Inaugural season of 3-on-3 hoops has six teams and 36 players -- impressive stars with the glaring exception of Caitlin Clark, who declined aggressive, desperate overtures.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2025
In this instance, the government of Greenland, which represents its fifty-six thousand residents, most of whom are Indigenous Inuits, has already rejected Trump’s overtures.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Zuckerberg’s overtures to Trump began in the months leading up to the election.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 11 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for overture 
Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Inaugural season of 3-on-3 hoops has six teams and 36 players -- impressive stars with the glaring exception of Caitlin Clark, who declined aggressive, desperate overtures.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2025
In this instance, the government of Greenland, which represents its fifty-six thousand residents, most of whom are Indigenous Inuits, has already rejected Trump’s overtures.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Zuckerberg’s overtures to Trump began in the months leading up to the election.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 11 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for overture
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Cite this Entry
“Overture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overture. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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