practice run

plural practice runs

1. A trial or practice before a real-world deployment or occurrence.

   We made a practice run with the automatic paint sprayer on a piece of scrap.

   1 more example

   I took part in simulated exercises to prepare my country for the practical, economic and social shock waves from rare but devastating events – volcanic eruptions that affect whole hemispheres, meteor strikes, zoonotic epidemics and other calamities. I recall a practice run for an influenza pandemic in which about 200,000 people died.

   2020 April 9, Ian Boyd, “We practised for a pandemic, but didn’t brace”, in Nature, volume 580, number 7802, page 9

   Synonyms: dry run, dummy run, roadtest, trial run