pre-emption

British

/ prɪˈɛmpʃən /

noun

law the purchase of or right to purchase property in advance of or in preference to others
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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pre-emption

C16: from Medieval Latin praeemptiō, from praeemere to buy beforehand, from emere to buy

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