From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisha prelude to somethinga prelude to somethingBEFOREif an event is a prelude to a more important event, it happens just before it and makes people expect it Living together as a prelude to marriage is now considered acceptable in many countries. → prelude
Examples from the Corpus
a prelude to something• Morley denied that they were intended as a prelude to parliamentary government.• Computer simulations are only mechanical extensions of this verbal power, which manipulates signs and symbols as a prelude to manipulating things.• These contacts could be a prelude to an event that would be much more attention-grabbing.• Could this be a prelude to a trade war even more destructive of world prosperity than a military war?• Even this one-day proceeding is merely a prelude to the real case.• The search for the seat of divinity in man and nature is only a prelude to the aspiration for transcendence.• Your notes should be the product of historical thought and not simply a prelude to it.• This outing was a prelude to many more. 