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.
Like the rest of UPS’s tens of thousands of drivers, he works alone, which means he’s got to be attuned to any signs of overheating and pre-empt them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
So rather than get upset every time that happens, it’s better to pre-empt the accidents with as much detailed preparation as possible.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Jones sought to pre-empt an argument that the impending speech fell in the public domain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
“Nobody was intending to pre-empt the New Jersey state gaming commission,” he says.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
As he drew himself up in his sinister garb I thought again of the cheap actors of a day when moving pictures had yet to pre-empt the field of the lurid melodrama.
From The Film Mystery by Reeve, Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin)
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.
