1.1An introductory or preliminary event, typically in a sports contest.
Example sentencesExamples
Scene, a course winner, who seems to excel in big fields, has a better chance than most, especially after a recent pipe-opener on the sand to banish winter cobwebs.
Adding to the golf mania in the month will be the Ryder Cup at the Belfry, a real pipe-opener for Mt. Juliet.
The 2002 triathlon season began with the usual pipe-opener, the long-established Liam Ball Triathlon in Derry.
Sure to have benefitted from that pipe-opener, Dancing Mystery can show his rivals a clean pair of heels in tomorrow's valuable curtain-raiser.
The eight-year-old bounced back in tremendous form last season and will be all the better for a recent all-weather pipe-opener.