Noun: overture ow-vu(r)-chu(r) or 'ow-vu(r),tyûr
- Orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio
"The overture hinted at themes that would appear later in the work"
- Something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
"drinks were the overture to dinner";
- preliminary, prelude
- A tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others
"she rejected his overtures";
- advance, approach, feeler
Derived forms: overtures
Type of: inception, music, origin, origination, proffer, proposition, suggestion
Encyclopedia: Overture