- a variation of preemption.
pre-emption
Britishnoun
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law the purchase of or right to purchase property in advance of or in preference to others
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international law the right of a government to intercept and seize for its own purposes goods or property of the subjects of another state while in transit, esp in time of war
Etymology
Origin of pre-emption
C16: from Medieval Latin praeemptiō, from praeemere to buy beforehand, from emere to buy
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.
To those of us who have worked in digital assets for years, this is a familiar movie, and we know how damaging the ending can be without federal pre-emption.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
That would allow him to buy Gold's shares under West Ham's pre-emption rights rules - which allow existing shareholders first choice to buy shares when they become available.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Disputes over the pre-emption question have been working their way through the court system.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
Tech industry executives are waiting to see whether Trump follows through on the executive order and whether the pre-emption concept gains traction in Congress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Hon. W. R. Ross, Provincial Minister of Lands, says that there is a total of 93,000,000 acres of land reserved for pre-emption within the confines of the Province at the present time.
From Canada West by Canada. Dept. of the interior
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.
