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preemptively

or pre-emp·tive·ly

[ pree-emp-tiv-lee ]

adverb

  1. before or in preference to other buyers, claimants, candidates, etc.:

    TriStar has preemptively purchased the movie rights to Williams’ new novel, the sequel to her debut bestseller.

  2. as a measure taken against something anticipated or feared; preventively:

    Knowing I’d be practicing piano for hours every day, I preemptively left polite notes for the upstairs and downstairs neighbors—with cookies attached—apologizing for the noise.

  3. Bridge. (said of bidding) at an unnecessarily high level, as a defensive maneuver to make communication between one’s opponents more difficult:

    The more tricks you are certain of winning, given your hand, the higher the level at which you can bid preemptively.



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