dry run

/ˌdraɪ ˌrʌn/

Other forms: dry runs

A dry run is a test or rehearsal for a public presentation or procedure. If you're nervous about your speech, you should do a dry run the day before in front of your family.

Stage actors do dry runs of plays in the form of dress rehearsals, in which they put on costumes and makeup and go through the entire show in preparation for opening night. Engineers do a different sort of dry run when they test vehicles or plane parts before they're used in real life situations. And you might take your new snowshoes on a dry run in your backyard before hitting the hiking trails.

Definitions of dry run

1. noun

   a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert)
   synonyms: rehearsal

   types:

   dress rehearsal

   a full uninterrupted rehearsal in costumes shortly before the first performance

   run-through

   an uninterrupted rehearsal

   walk-through

   a first perfunctory rehearsal of a theatrical production in which actors read their lines from the script and move as directed

   type of:

   drill, exercise, practice, practice session, recitation

   systematic training by multiple repetitions