presale

1 of 2

adjective

pre·​sale ˌprē-ˈsāl 

variants or pre-sale

1

: done, existing, or occurring before a sale

a presale party/tour/exhibition

presale expectations

a presale disclosure

Sotheby's pre-sale estimate was $12,000-15,000, but early bidding indicated that the final sales price would go far higher.

—R. O. Blechman

2

: of, relating to, being, or involving a presale

She paid $30 to join the … fan club, which gives members access to presale tickets.

—Marco R. della Cava

presale orders for the book

bought a presale condo

presale

2 of 2

noun

variants or pre-sale

plural presales or pre-sales

: the sale of something before it is completed or available

… the first run of books is nearly sold out in presale on Amazon.

—Brooke Edwards

As stated earlier, a presale is literally a sale of your film to a particular territory before the film is made.

—Stacey Parks

… said most developers would now need a large number of presales to get bank backing.

—Susan Edmunds

Tickets go on sale to the general public May 14. Select presales begin May 7.

—Andrew Gans

Sources have told The Wall Street Journal that Apple has "sold hundreds of thousands" of iPads since the device went on presale March 12.

—Erica Ogg

Examples of presale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In August 2023, the first drop of 100 presale tickets for Fyre Fest II (at $499 apiece) sold out within a day, even though its website at the time offered no lineup, no specific location and no details about accommodations. —Angela Yang, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2024

Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, September 24 at 10am local time until Thursday, September 26 at 10pm local time through the Citi Entertainment program. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 19 Sep. 2024

Noun

In the future, Hot Dish Pantry could potentially put on pop-ups offering bestsellers or frozen items for presale. —Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2024

Various presales begin at 7 a.m. Sept. 11 (Citi cardmembers); 7 a.m. ET Sept. 12 (historical artist fan club members) and 9 a.m. ET Sept. 12 (community fan club members); 7 a.m. ET Sept. 13 (Caesars Rewards members and Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers). —Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1918, in the meaning defined above