preempt
verb
pre·empt
prē-ˈem(p)t 
preempted; preempting; preempts
1
: to acquire (something, such as land) by preemption
2
: to seize upon to the exclusion of others : take for oneself
the movement was then preempted by a lunatic fringe
3
a
: to replace with something considered to be of greater value or priority : take precedence over
the program did not appear, having been preempted by a baseball game—
Robert MacNeil
Robert MacNeil
b
law
: to replace or supersede (a law) or bar (an action) by the doctrine of preemption
In so doing, the Court held that Congress did not intend to preempt common law contract claims.—Charas v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 160 F.3d 1259 (1998)
Charas v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 160 F.3d 1259 (1998)4
: to gain a commanding or preeminent place in
: to make a preemptive bid in bridge
Synonyms
Examples of preempt in a Sentence
The contract preempts lawsuits by the company's clients.
The state law was preempted by a federal law.
The President's speech preempted regular programming.
Recent Examples on the Web
The commercial networks were hesitant to preempt their game shows and soap operas to present the hearings.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
After the reader rebuffed his increasingly aggressive attempts at flirting, the executive went to HR himself, presumably to preempt a harassment complaint.
—Karla Miller, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Most critically, there is a real danger that informational disclosure risks preempting deeper, tougher regulations that might be warranted.
—TIME, 11 Apr. 2024
The other element here was that in the early winter and spring of that second season, the Iraq war had started, and by my recollection, we were preempted something like six weeks out of eight.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Recognizing and aligning with each other’s apology languages can preempt misunderstandings and facilitate smoother conflict resolution, promoting emotional literacy and communication skills.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Bukele also used emergency powers to introduce indefinite pretrial detention, which means that the state does not need to present convincing evidence in court before locking a suspect up for extended periods of time and preempts the possibility that a corrupt judge would release the suspect.
—Gustavo Flores-Macías, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
The restoration of the mansion preempts a 2025 celebration of Cézanne and his connection to Aix-en-Provence.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Feb. 2024
To counterbalance the primary goal of clearing people from those sensitive areas, and to preempt constitutional challenges, the council also established a street engagement strategy requiring outreach to offer shelter or housing to everyone being ordered to leave.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
After the reader rebuffed his increasingly aggressive attempts at flirting, the executive went to HR himself, presumably to preempt a harassment complaint.
—Karla Miller, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Most critically, there is a real danger that informational disclosure risks preempting deeper, tougher regulations that might be warranted.
—TIME, 11 Apr. 2024
The other element here was that in the early winter and spring of that second season, the Iraq war had started, and by my recollection, we were preempted something like six weeks out of eight.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Recognizing and aligning with each other’s apology languages can preempt misunderstandings and facilitate smoother conflict resolution, promoting emotional literacy and communication skills.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Bukele also used emergency powers to introduce indefinite pretrial detention, which means that the state does not need to present convincing evidence in court before locking a suspect up for extended periods of time and preempts the possibility that a corrupt judge would release the suspect.
—Gustavo Flores-Macías, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
The restoration of the mansion preempts a 2025 celebration of Cézanne and his connection to Aix-en-Provence.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Feb. 2024
To counterbalance the primary goal of clearing people from those sensitive areas, and to preempt constitutional challenges, the council also established a street engagement strategy requiring outreach to offer shelter or housing to everyone being ordered to leave.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preempt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near preempt
Cite this Entry
“Preempt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preempt. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
preempt
verb
pre·empt
prē-ˈem(p)t
1
a
: to settle upon (as public land) with the right to purchase before others
b
: to take by such a right
2
: to take before someone else can : appropriate
preempt a seat at the stadium
3
: to take the place of
the president's speech preempted the regular program
Legal Definition
preempt
transitive verb
pre·empt
prē-ˈempt
1
a
: to acquire (land) by preemption
b
: to seize upon to the exclusion of others : take for oneself
a senior user of a trademark could not preempt use of the mark in remote geographical markets—Mesa Springs Enterprises v. Cutco Indus., 736 P.2d 1251 (1986)
Mesa Springs Enterprises v. Cutco Indus., 736 P.2d 1251 (1986)2
a
: to replace or supersede (a law) by preemption
such state laws are not preempted by the federal Energy Reorganization Act of 1974—National Law Journal
National Law Journal
b
: to preclude or bar (an action) by preemption
federal airline deregulation does not preempt claims under state contract law—National Law Journal
National Law JournalLove words? Need even more definitions?
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