preoccupied
Use Preoccupied in a sentence
yəˌpaɪd adjective
1.
completely engrossed in thought; absorbed.
2.
previously occupied; taken; filled.
3.
Biology. already used as a name for some species, genus, etc., and not available as a designation for any other.
00:10
Preoccupied
is always a great word to know.
So is typical. Does it mean:
| a grouping of tissues into a distinct structure, as a heart or kidney in animals or a leaf or stamen in plants, that performs a specialized task |
| exemplifying most nearly the essential characteristics of a higher group in natural history, and forming the type |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object), pre·oc·cu·pied, pre·oc·cu·py·ing.
1.
to absorb or engross to the exclusion of other things.
2.
to occupy beforehand or before others.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To preoccupied
Collins
World English Dictionary
preoccupied (priːˈɒkjʊˌpaɪd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | engrossed or absorbed in something, esp one's own thoughts |
| 2. | already or previously occupied |
| 3. | biology (of a taxonomic name) already used to designate a genus, species, etc |
| preoccupy (priːˈɒkjʊˌpaɪ) | |
| —vb , -pies, -pying, -pied | |
| 1. | to engross the thoughts or mind of |
| 2. | to occupy before or in advance of another |
| [C16: from Latin praeoccupāre to capture in advance, from prae before + occupāre to seize, take possession of] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Example sentences
And then in the next chapter he is briefly preoccupied by what he witnessed.
He was a benevolent if remote presence, largely preoccupied with managing a successful dress manufacturing company.
The dollar is weak, and the administration is preoccupied with painful budget cuts.
It's an irresistible question, one that has preoccupied science, religion and art for centuries.
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