pre·oc·cu·py

[pree-ok-yuh-pahy]
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.

Origin:
1560–70; pre- + occupy

pre·oc·cu·pi·er, noun
o·ver·pre·oc·cu·py, verb (used with object), o·ver·pre·oc·cu·pied, o·ver·pre·oc·cu·py·ing.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
preoccupy (priːˈɒkjʊˌpaɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
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
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00:10
Preoccupy is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Example sentences
That's another country likely to preoccupy your thoughts in your new job.
Big-picture issues can preoccupy the currency markets.
The dire implications of an aging faculty preoccupy a lot of academic pundits.
Confusion over why a disaster happened at this particular time may preoccupy
  them.
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