preempted

American

[pree-emp-tid] / priˈɛmp tɪd /

Or pre-empted

adjective

(of land) occupied in order to establish a prior right to buy.

In 1860 the blacksmith arrived in Kansas to buy his preempted claim of 120 acres on Mission Creek.
acquired or appropriated ahead of others; taken for oneself.

The group of retired friends lunched together every day in a preempted room at the Exchange Club.
Government. being or relating to an area of oversight reserved by a particular level of government, especially an area that would otherwise be under the authority of a lower level of government.

Except in the federally preempted domain of warnings based on smoking and health, tobacco regulation is under state control.
replaced or set aside because of other priorities, reconsideration, changes in scheduling, etc..

The preempted programs were usually game shows or reruns of primetime sitcoms.
forestalled or prevented by advance action.

Knowledge acquired through a preempted attack may inform national response and help deter future attacks.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of preempt.

Other Word Forms

unpreempted

adjective

Etymology

Origin of preempted

First recorded in 1860–70; preempt ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; preempt ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It's unclear whether The Bachelorette, which was already filmed, is simply being preempted for a period of time or if it will never see the light of day.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

This is despite being preempted in 23% of U.S. households, in markets where ABC affiliates are owned by Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Media Group, station chains that persist in refusing to air the show.

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2025

But he didn’t defend the additional restrictions in court because Stein’s office believed they were preempted by the FDA.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 30, 2024

The court has frequently found that state laws seeking to regulate immigration are preempted by federal law.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2024

The other reason is that other opportunities for the independent invention of writing were preempted by Sumerian or early Mesoamerican writing and their derivatives.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023