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- Dictionarypre·empt/prēˈem(p)t/
verb
- 1. take action in order to prevent (an anticipated event) from happening; forestall: "the second session will focus on policies to preempted problems" Similar
- 2. acquire or appropriate (something) in advance: "many tables were already preempted by family parties" Similar
noun
- 1. a preemptive bid.
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to do or say something before someone so that you make their words or actions unnecessary or not effective: The minister held a press conference in order to pre-empt criticism in the newspapers. You need to be prepared and preempt the impact of the change before it happens. US.
PREEMPT definition: 1. to prevent something from happening by taking action first: 2. If a broadcast is preempted, it…. Learn more.
to do or say something before someone so that you make their words or actions unnecessary or not effective: The senator held a press conference in order to pre-empt criticism in the newspapers. You need to be prepared and preempt the impact of the change before it happens. US.
The meaning of PREEMPT is to acquire (something, such as land) by preemption. How to use preempt in a sentence.
pre-empt something to prevent something from happening by taking action to stop it. Her departure pre-empted any further questions. A good training course will pre-empt many problems. The government announced it had pre-empted a coup attempt.
If you pre-empt an action, you prevent it from happening by doing something which makes it unnecessary or impossible. You can pre-empt pain by taking a painkiller at the first warning sign. [ VERB noun ]
to acquire or appropriate before someone else; take for oneself; arrogate: a political issue preempted by the opposition party. to take the place of because of priorities, reconsideration, rescheduling, etc.; supplant: The special newscast preempted the usual television program.
vb. 1. ( tr) to acquire in advance of or to the exclusion of others; appropriate. 2. (Law) ( tr) chiefly US to occupy (public land) in order to acquire a prior right to purchase. 3. (Bridge) ( intr) bridge to make a high opening bid, often on a weak hand, to shut out opposition bidding. pre-ˈemptor n. pre-ˈemptory adj.
Preempt means to displace or take something before others can. Preempt combines the Latin prefix prae-, "before," with emere, "to buy." Think old-fashioned land grabs and midnight madness sales. It can also mean to replace one thing with another that’s more important.
verb. /priˈɛmpt/ Verb Forms. preempt something to prevent something from happening by taking action to stop it Her departure preempted any further questions. A good training course will preempt many problems. The government announced it had preempted a coup attempt. Definitions on the go.
