preempt
or pre-empt
to occupy (land) in order to establish a prior right to buy.
to acquire or appropriate before someone else; take for oneself; arrogate: a political issue preempted by the opposition party.
Bridge. to make a preemptive bid.
Bridge. a preemptive bid.
Origin of preempt
1Other words for preempt
Other words from preempt
- pre·emp·ti·ble [pree-emp-tuh-buhl], /priˈɛmp tə bəl/, adjective
- pre·emp·tor [pree-emp-tawr, -ter], /priˈɛmp tɔr, -tər/, noun
- pre·emp·to·ry [pree-emp-tuh-ree], /priˈɛmp tə ri/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use preempt in a sentence
He'll be briefed on the risks of Iranian retaliation, and he will be offered a menu of options to pre-empt such retaliation.
As a growing number of affiliates threatened to pre-empt the show, Gaspin said he realized “that this was not going to go well.”
Neither party should engage in efforts or take actions that could unilaterally pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt, negotiations.
According to the vice president, we will strive to prevent threats but not pre-empt them.
So late as 1872 an Indian received special permission to pre-empt one hundred acres.
The aim should be to pre-empt the ground for cleanness and truth.
The Child in the Midst | Mary Schauffler LabareeThe favorite rumor was that the entire firm was a decoy to bewilder agents of foreign powers and pre-empt their espionage efforts.
In the Control Tower | Will MohlerIf fortunate to find such, they at once pre-empt the old lodge and make it their home and headquarters.
Canadian Wilds | Martin Hunter
British Dictionary definitions for pre-empt
/ (prɪˈɛmpt) /
(tr) to acquire in advance of or to the exclusion of others; appropriate
(tr) mainly US to occupy (public land) in order to acquire a prior right to purchase
(intr) bridge to make a high opening bid, often on a weak hand, to shut out opposition bidding
Derived forms of pre-empt
- pre-emptor, noun
- pre-emptory, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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