Definition
nounA performer's first performance to the public, in sport, the arts or some other area.
nounThe first public presentation of a theatrical play, motion picture, opera, musical composition, dance, or other performing arts piece.
Sentence Examples
Tom became popular among teenagers as soon as he made his debut on the screen.
The actress made her debut when she was eight.
He will make his debut for the first team this week.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French début, from Middle French, derivative of débuter (“to move, begin”), from dé- + but (“mark, goal”), from Old French but (“aim, goal, end, target”), from Old French butte (“mound, knoll, target”), from Frankish *but (“stump, log”), or from Old Norse bútr (“log, stump, butt”); both from Proto-Germanic *butą (“end, piece”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewd- (“to beat, push”). Cognate with Old English butt (“tree stump”). More at butt. The Philippine sense is influenced by Spanish debut.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Liverpool's performance - despite a defensive injury crisis that saw a promising debut for teenage academy graduate John Flanagan - was a resounding advert for Kenny Dalglish to be given the manager's job on a permanent basis."
— 2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 02 Aug 2019:
"Hulking defenceman Gudbranson, who came to Vancouver in a trade with the Florida Panthers last May, scored in his debut for the Canucks."
— 2016 September 29, Jason Keller, “Eberle-McDavid-Lucic line debuts in Oilers pre-season loss to Canucks”, in CBC, archived from the original on 04 Apr 2023:
"He recently debuted a preview of his cover of Cher’s 1998 hit “Believe” on his official Instagram account."
— 2019 June 27, Lisa Respers France, “Country star Jake Owen claps back at anti-LGBTQ commenter”, in CNN:
"The nine-car electric unit debuted on the 0630 Newcastle-London King's Cross."
— 2020 April 8, “Fleet News: News in Brief”, in RAIL, page 29: