teaser

[ tee-zer ]

noun

1. a person or thing that teases.
2. an advertisement that lures customers or clients by offering a bonus, gift, or the like.
3. 1. Television. Also called tease,. a short, impressionistic image, promotional video, or audio spot that reveals very little about the product or company being advertised and is presented to generate interest in advance of the primary advertising campaign.
   2. Movies. Also called teaser trailer,. a short, edited promotional video to generate interest in an upcoming film and announce its release date: a teaser is a forerunner to full-length trailers for the film that feature highlights and are shown closer to the film’s distribution date.
   3. Television. Also called bumper tease. bumper ¹( def 9a ).
4. Informal. tease ( def 10 ).
5. Theater. a drapery or flat piece across the top of the proscenium arch that masks the flies and that, together with the tormentors, forms a frame for the stage opening.
6. Printing, Journalism. kicker ( def 9 ).

teaser

/ ˈtiːzə /

noun

1. a person who teases
2. a preliminary advertisement in a campaign that attracts attention by making people curious to know what product is being advertised
3. a difficult question
4. vet science a vasectomized male animal, such as an ox, used to detect oestrus in females

Word History and Origins

Origin of teaser¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English teser “machine for teasing wool”; tease, -er ¹

Example Sentences

On Wednesday, FX dropped a longer teaser of the highly anticipated "Alien: Earth" that is giving birth vibes.

From Salon

“Charlie was very good at being evil and not showing it,” says Mr Kaufman in the series teaser.

From BBC

Doves teased the announcement on X, and fans have been reacting with excitement to teaser posters which appeared across the band's home city of Manchester over the weekend.

From BBC

The first teaser for the Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’ showed Timothée Chalamet’s physical transformation into the music icon and offered a sample of his singing voice.

From Los Angeles Times

CBS edited her response, with one part of it used as a teaser on its Sunday morning show “Face the Nation” and the other part saved for broadcast the next night on “60 Minutes.”

From Salon

Related Words

• conundrum
• enigma
• problem
• question
• riddle
• secrecy
• subtlety
• thriller