o ‧ ver ‧ ture /ˈəʊvətjʊə, -tʃʊə, -tʃə $ ˈoʊvərtjʊr, -tʃʊr, -tʃər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: 'opening' , from Latin apertura ; ⇨ ↑ aperture ]
1 . [countable] a short piece of music written as an introduction to a long piece of music, especially an ↑ opera
2 . overtures [plural] an attempt to begin a friendly relationship with a person, country etc:
They began making overtures to the Irish government.
She had rejected his overtures.
3 . be an overture if an event is an overture to a more important event, it happens just before it and makes you expect it