preoccupy
Americanverb (used with object)
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preoccupies,
present (3rd person singular)
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preoccupied,
past participle, past
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preoccupying
present participle
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to absorb or engross to the exclusion of other things.
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to occupy beforehand or before others.
verb
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to engross the thoughts or mind of
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to occupy before or in advance of another
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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preoccupysimple
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preoccupiessimple
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have preoccupiedperfect
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has preoccupiedperfect
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am preoccupyingprogressive
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are preoccupyingprogressive
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is preoccupyingprogressive
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have been preoccupyingperfect progressive
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has been preoccupyingperfect progressive
Past
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preoccupiedsimple
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had preoccupiedperfect
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was preoccupyingprogressive
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were preoccupyingprogressive
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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:
“Acting involved pretending to be other people, whose own emotional states —such as she understood them — could preoccupy her for a time,” writes Cusk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
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
Of course, the dreams that I had during my illness continued to preoccupy me.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
But it’s the fighters’ first encounter, in 1936, that preoccupies “The Clash of Nations: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 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
It's an issue that preoccupies the German government too.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2022
This sort of shift in institutional thinking preoccupies Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, who was recently named the Peabody Essex Museum’s first female director in its 221-year history.
From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2021
This preoccupies her, it’s her own mystery that she hasn’t been able to solve.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
"The defendant was so preoccupied with his own enrichment that he behaved in a shocking and disgraceful way," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
But like the current wellness movement, looksmaxxers are preoccupied with masculinity.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
For George Buckley, chief European economist at Japanese bank Nomura, climate change is becoming harder to ignore, even in a profession preoccupied with quarterly data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
If anything, the upper crust have more time to be artistic — less preoccupied with getting a job and making a living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Rachael carried the paper bag into the bathroom, got two glasses, returned; she still seemed distracted and uncertain—and preoccupied.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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
The future preoccupying him right now, though, is the 2026 harvest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
“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
Whatever is getting you down or preoccupying you, you can't be thinking about that when you're birding.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2023
Ralph Myers was illiterate, but he knew that it was the Morrison crime that was preoccupying law enforcement investigators.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
