- a variation of preempt.
pre-empt
Britishverb
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(tr) to acquire in advance of or to the exclusion of others; appropriate
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(tr) to occupy (public land) in order to acquire a prior right to purchase
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(intr) bridge to make a high opening bid, often on a weak hand, to shut out opposition bidding
Other Word Forms
Vocabulary lists containing pre-empt
2014 Vocabulary Video Contest (M-Z)
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 3
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Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 5
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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.
In 2018, a late-year stock selloff helped persuade officials to end a mild rate-hike campaign designed to pre-empt inflation, which had only just reached 2% after years below it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Their capital budgets allow them to absorb, hedge or pre-empt energy-cost inflation in ways smaller companies cannot.
From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026
“I generally agree with the direction the White House is taking to pre-empt state laws on AI,” he said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
“Nobody was intending to pre-empt the New Jersey state gaming commission,” he says.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
Now for the cheap and year-ridden person who has taken unto himself my second personality, Noah; and that other strange combination of woe and wickedness, Jonah, who has chosen to pre-empt my third.
From The Enchanted Typewriter by John Kendrick Bangs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
