Definition of "overture" []

• Music An instrumental composition intended especially as an introduction to an extended work, such as an opera or oratorio. (noun)
• Music A similar orchestral work intended for independent concert performance. (noun)
• An introductory section or part, as of a poem; a prelude. (noun)
• An act, offer, or proposal that indicates readiness to undertake a course of action or open a relationship. (noun)
• To present as an introduction or proposal. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "William Tell overture is not "from the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange", it is a piece of classical music composed by Rossini."
• "Whether Syria's peace overture is rhetorical or real, there is no better time to put Damascus to the test."
• "By the 18th century, composers were calling the overture to an opera, or an oratorio, the "sinfonia"."