prerelease

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adjective

Before release.

OriginEnglish release ← Middle English relesen ← Old French relaisser →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

adjectiveprerelease (not comparable)
  1. not comparableBefore release.

    They were aided by beta testers, ordinary people outside the company who were willing to try prerelease software and report bugs […]

    2004, William Poundstone, How Would You Move Mount Fuji?
    1 more example

    In both years, only 10 to 12 percent had participated in formal prerelease programs designed to prepare prisoners for the transition from life in prison […]

    2006, Mary Pattillo, David Weiman, Bruce Western, Imprisoning America: The Social Effects of Mass Incarceration
nounprerelease (plural prereleases)

plural prereleases

  1. A preliminary version of a work, released in advance.
  2. hobbiesAn inadvertent (premature) release of a skiboot from the bindings of a ski, caused by excessive vibration, such as going over an extremely bumpy piste.
verbprerelease (third-person singular simple present prereleases, present participle prereleasing, simple past and past participle prereleased)

present singular third person prereleases · participle present prereleasing · participle past prereleased · past prereleased

  1. To release in advance

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Proto-Italic*wre-
  10. Latinre-
  11. Old Frenchre-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*(s)leg-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*(s)leg-s-ós
  14. Latinlaxus
  15. Latinlaxō
  16. Vulgar Latin*laxicāre
  17. Vulgar Latin*lassicāre
  18. Old Frenchlaschier
  19. Old Frenchrelaschier
  20. Old Frenchrelaisser
  21. Middle Englishrelesen
  22. Englishrelease
  23. Englishprerelease

From pre- + release.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

prerelease. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prerelease

MLA

“prerelease.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prerelease. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prerelease,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prerelease.

Source: prerelease on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.