preoccupy
Americanverb (used with object)
-
preoccupies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
preoccupied,
past participle, past
-
preoccupying
present participle
-
to absorb or engross to the exclusion of other things.
-
to occupy beforehand or before others.
verb
-
to engross the thoughts or mind of
-
to occupy before or in advance of another
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
preoccupysimple
-
preoccupiessimple
-
have preoccupiedperfect
-
has preoccupiedperfect
-
am preoccupyingprogressive
-
are preoccupyingprogressive
-
is preoccupyingprogressive
-
have been preoccupyingperfect progressive
-
has been preoccupyingperfect progressive
Past
-
preoccupiedsimple
-
had preoccupiedperfect
-
was preoccupyingprogressive
-
were preoccupyingprogressive
-
had been preoccupyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of preoccupy
Explanation
Things that preoccupy you engross or enthrall you — they suck up all of your attention and energy, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. Your upcoming math test might preoccupy you, making it difficult for you to concentrate in English class. For some teenagers, thoughts about how they appear to others can easily preoccupy them, while others let their concern about grades and college applications preoccupy them. It's important to spend some time thinking about these things, but allowing them to preoccupy you can be stressful and unpleasant. Preoccupy comes from the Latin word praeoccupare, "seize beforehand."
Vocabulary lists containing preoccupy
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.
See Examples For:
That, along with the Knicks players' return from San Antonio, will preoccupy this city with basketball for a few more days.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
“If the Iran situation lingers, it will preoccupy more and more of Congress’ time,” said Stifel Chief Washington Strategist Brian Gardner.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
What will preoccupy us in a century, fuel our ambitions and stir our fears, will probably be something we can’t even imagine today.
From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2025
Numbers don’t preoccupy me as much as they did my father, but I still find them fascinating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
But at the moment he had other things to preoccupy him.
From "1984" by George Orwell
But at least it has a precedent, unlike the AI apocalypse that preoccupies folks now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
This is a really critical piece that preoccupies me: what that does to our ability to organize and be in solidarity.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2023
Better to simply call her a writer: a person who must put into words that which preoccupies her; not for therapeutic ends, not for consolation, but with a probing concern about that which wounds us.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022
Behind Mr. Vucic’s levity over physical stature, however, lurks a serious question that torments the Balkans and preoccupies Western diplomats.
From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2022
This preoccupies her, it’s her own mystery that she hasn’t been able to solve.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Hilliard said Bush was motivated by "financial greed" and was "so preoccupied with his own enrichment" he allowed the site to descend into an "appalling" state.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
But like the current wellness movement, looksmaxxers are preoccupied with masculinity.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
The London-reared actor and former Ralph Lauren model comes across as a mild-mannered Gen Z type who runs his words together and is preoccupied with being cute.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
In a community where residents are preoccupied with their own difficult recovery journeys, the unity was noteworthy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
She is preoccupied with a project she wants to do with the tadpoles today.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
For the company at the center of the boom, that’s an increasingly preoccupying question.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
With the use of personal data by AI models preoccupying authorities, particularly in Europe, Berners-Lee has made data protection his main cause in recent years, notably through the startup Inrupt.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
So much so that the dread itself becomes preoccupying, all-enveloping, claustrophobic.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2024
“What is preoccupying my brain, my everything, is just the fear of what’s going to happen next,” he said in an interview.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2023
Such difficulties as these tend to be all the more preoccupying nowadays because one does not have the means to discuss and corroborate views with one's fellow professionals in the way one once did.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
