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.
Lisa Nandy said she would not pre-empt Starmer's announcement but said it was "how, not whether, we better protect children online".
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 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
“Nobody was intending to pre-empt the New Jersey state gaming commission,” he says.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
The preservation of federal foreign-policy powers led the justices to pre-empt a Massachusetts law that imposed sanctions on Burmese-made goods in Crosby v.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Mike had looked at his hand, figured that since he and Vaneski were vulnerable, while Keku and von Liegnitz were not, he bid a weakness pre-empt of three diamonds.
From Unwise Child by Garrett, Randall
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.
