premier

1 of 6

adjective (1)

pre·​mier pri-ˈmir 

-ˈmyir, 

-ˈmē-ər;

ˈprē-ˌmir 

-ˌmyir, 

-ˌmē-ər, 

ˈpre-

1

: first in position, rank, or importance

the city's premier restaurant

2

: first in time : earliest

premier

2 of 6

noun (1)

: prime minister

premiership

pri-ˈmir-ˌship 

-ˈmyir-, 

-ˈmē-ər-;

ˈprē-ˌmir-, 

-ˌmyir-, 

-ˌmē-ər-, 

ˈpre-

noun

premier

3 of 6

verb (1)

pre·​mier

less common spelling of premiere entry 2

intransitive verb

1

: to have a first public performance

The movie/play will premiere next week.

2

: to appear for the first time as a star performer

He premiered in the title role on Broadway.

transitive verb

: to give a first public performance of

The movie was premiered at the film festival.

premiere

4 of 6

noun (2)

pre·​miere pri-ˈmyer  -ˈmir 

-ˈmē-ər;

ˌpri-mē-ˈer

variants or less commonly première

plural premieres also premières

1

: a first performance or exhibition

the premiere of a play

the show's premiere episode

2

: the chief actress of a theatrical cast

premiere

5 of 6

verb (2)

pre·​miere pri-ˈmyer  -ˈmir 

-ˈmē-ər;

ˌpri-mē-ˈer

variants or less commonly première or premier

premiered also premièred; premiering also premièring

intransitive verb

1

: to have a first public performance

The movie/play will premiere next week.

2

: to appear for the first time as a star performer

He premiered in the title role on Broadway.

transitive verb

: to give a first public performance of

The movie was premiered at the film festival.

premiere

6 of 6

adjective (2)

pre·​miere pri-ˈmyer  -ˈmir 

-ˈmē-ər;

ˌpri-mē-ˈer

: premier

In addition to the sporting events, Lillehammer also offers one of Norway's premiere cultural sites in the Maihaugen Open Air Museum …

—William E. Schmidt

Synonyms of premier

Adjective (1)

• first
• initial
• foremost
• inaugural
• original
• earliest
• maiden
• pioneer

Examples of premier in a Sentence

Adjective (1)

a space shuttle on its premier voyage

the premier authority on butterflies

Noun (2)

The movie will have its premiere next week.

Verb (2)

The movie premieres next week.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Sportico is bringing the sports business industry’s premier event series to London next week. — Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Widely recognized among bettors as the premier option for Same Game Parlays thanks to the bet builder and real-time odds updates. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Noun

The telecast’s streaming debut follows a record-breaking 2026 edition that further cemented Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve as television’s premier New Year’s Eve destination. — Paul Grein, Billboard, 7 Oct. 2026

The rooms The rooms are all consistently sharp and polished, from the deluxe rooms all the way through to the premier suites and penthouse. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Verb

In 1991, he was tapped to manage the economy as a vice premier and was promoted to premier seven years later. — Cnn Staff, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026

However, it is expected to premier in the fall of 2026. — Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025

Noun

Ahead of the premiere’s conclusion, Variety exclusively reported that Neon’s awards campaign for the film will include Garfield and Rylance competing in the supporting actor category and Borisov campaigning in lead actor. — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026

Luca Guadagnino‘s hotly anticipated Sam Altman biopic Artificial held its premiere at the New York Film Festival on Monday night and the first reactions to the movie have already hit social media. — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026

Verb

Bailey came to Doom Scroll after premiering her dark comedy Audrey in competition at SXSW in 2024. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026

His directorial debut short film premiered during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival as part of its partnership with TikTok. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026

Adjective

Markus Schleinzer Signature Screenings The Signature Screenings series features premiere and special screenings, with some followed by Q&As with select directors, writers, actors, and producers. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026

Her season was unfortunately short-lived, as Bills and Nader were eliminated during the second premiere episode, where only the female celebrities performed. — Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (1)

Middle English primer, primier "first in time, first in rank, foremost," borrowed from Anglo-French primer, premer, premyer "first, earliest, most important" (continental Old & Middle French primier, premier), going back to Latin prīmārius "of the highest importance or station (of persons), first-rate, chief" — more at primary entry 1

Note: Since its adoption in late Middle English, this word has shown influence in both pronunciation and spelling from Middle French and French premier.

Noun (1)

short for premier minister, after French premier ministre "first minister"

Noun (2)

(sense 1) borrowed from French première, short for première représentation "first performance"; (sense 2) probably noun derivative of premiere entry 3

Verb (2)

verb derivative of premiere entry 1

Adjective (2)

alteration of premier entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

1707, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1927, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Adjective (2)

1768, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing premier

• premier danseur

Rhymes for premier

• adhere
• ameer
• amir
• appear
• arrear
• astir
• austere
• career
• cashier
• cohere
• compere
• emir

Kids Definition

premier

1 of 2 adjective

pre·​mier pri-ˈm(y)i(ə)r  ˈprē-mē-ər 

ˈprem-ē-

1

: first in position, rank, or importance : principal

2

: first in time : earliest

premier

2 of 2 noun

: the chief minister of government : prime minister

premiership

-ˌship 

noun