The term 'PRELIMINARY ROUND' can be broken down into two crossword solutions: 'HEAT' and '4 letters'. The term 'PRELIMINARY ROUND' is often used in sports and other competitions to refer to the first round of a tournament or event. This round is usually used to narrow down the field of competitors before the main event. In this context, 'HEAT' refers to a specific group of competitors who are competing against each other in the preliminary round. The '4 letters' refer to the length of the word 'HEAT', which is four letters long.