preliminary

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• adjective Prior to or preparing for the main matter, action, or business; introductory or prefatory.
• noun Something that precedes another item of a similar kind, especially.
• noun A contest to determine the finalists in a competition.
• noun An event that precedes the main event, especially in boxing or wrestling.
• noun An academic examination taken before a longer, more complex, or more important examination.
• noun An introductory remark made before a speech, presentation, or meeting.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun plural In college use, tests in certain elementary subjects previous to the final examinations for entrance.
• Preceding and leading up to something more important; introductory; preparatory; prefatory.
• noun Something which introduces or leads up to following matter or events; an introductory or preparatory statement, measure, action, etc.; a preface; a prelude.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun That which precedes the main discourse, work, design, or business; something introductory or preparatory
• adjective Introductory; previous; preceding the main discourse or business; prefatory

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• adjective in preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory
• noun A preparation for a main matter; an introduction
• noun Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists
• noun A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• adjective denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important; designed to orient or acquaint with a situation before proceeding
• noun a minor match preceding the main event
• noun something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows