noun
qualifying round; preliminary contest; heat
Used in sports, competitions, and contests for a round held before the main round, final, or tournament proper. Common in expressions such as 予選を通過する and 予選で敗退する.
チームは予選を一位で通過した。
The team passed the qualifying round in first place.
彼女は百メートルの予選
She set a personal best in the 100-meter heat.
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
preliminary selection; screening
Refers to selecting or narrowing down candidates, applicants, works, etc. before the main judging or next stage. As 予選する it is transitive but somewhat formal or stiff compared with 選考する or 選ぶ.
審査員は応募者を予選し、面接に進む十人を決めた。
The judges screened the applicants and chose ten people to proceed to the interview.
委員会は応募作品の予選を行い、十点を本審査に進めた。
The committee held a preliminary screening of the submitted works and advanced ten to the main judging.
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
primary election; preliminary election
Political or election-related use for a preliminary vote or primary that narrows candidates. In modern Japanese, 予備選挙 or 予備選 is often clearer; 予選 in this sense can sound abbreviated or explanatory.
政治の記事では、候補者を絞る予備的な選挙を予選と呼ぶことがある。
In political writing, a preliminary election that narrows down candidates may be called a primary.