preempt

preempt

verb

Definition of PREEMPT

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right <the thoughtless teenagers had preempted front-row seats that were reserved for the guests of honor>

Synonyms arrogate, commandeer, convert, expropriate, pirate, preempt, press, seize, take over, usurp

Related Words annex, attach, claim, confiscate, impound, repossess, sequester; assume, collar, grab, grasp, snatch, steal, wrench, wrest; despoil, loot, pillage; encroach, infringe, invade, occupy, preoccupy, trespass; embezzle, misapply, misappropriate, misuse, peculate