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
- pre-emptor noun
- pre-emptory adjective
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.
“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
That company said it would pre-empt Kimmel’s program “for the foreseeable future.”
From Salon • Sep. 17, 2025
Norris was keen to pre-empt the conditions and stop for treaded intermediate tyres early, but was warned that they had to be on the right tyres at the right time.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2025
The United States government not only taxes, fines, imprisons and hangs women, but it allows them to pre-empt lands, register ships and take out passports and naturalization papers.
From The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 2 of 2) Including Public Addresses, Her Own Letters and Many From Her Contemporaries During Fifty Years by Harper, Ida Husted
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.
