obsess

verb

ob·​sess əb-ˈses 

äb-

obsessed; obsessing; obsesses

transitive verb

: to haunt or excessively preoccupy the mind of

was obsessed with the idea

She was obsessed with her car.

intransitive verb

: to engage in obsessive thinking : become obsessed with an idea

He's always obsessing over money.

Examples of obsess in a Sentence

The war obsesses him—he talks about nothing else.

You need to stop obsessing and just deal with the problem.

Recent Examples on the Web

Bland was obsessed with religion, but that did not amount to insanity, the prosecutor argued. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 24 June 2026

Other Pacific states don’t celebrate and obsess over tuba, though, like Colima does. — Daniel Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2026

Owala is the brand everyone's obsessed with right now, and the Smooth Sip tumbler is the latest reason why. — Madeline Merinuk, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026

The Finds aisle has a variety of throw blanket prints to match your favorite genre—if you're obsessed with romantasy, then the hot pink BookTok print is for you. — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, in be obscessed "be tormented by (the Devil, an evil spirit)," borrowed from Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidēre "to sit so as to occupy a position, occupy, frequent, besiege, blockade, beset, assail" (Late Latin, "[of a demon] to possess"), from ob- "toward, facing, against" + sedēre "to sit, be seated" — more at ob-, sit entry 1

Note: This verb in its participle form obsessed is fairly common in early Modern English as a metaphorical extension of its Latin etymon in the sense "besiege, beset," the torment attributed to the Devil being compared to the besieging of a fortress. The same applies to the associated noun obsession. With these meanings the word is sometimes accompanied by its synonyms possessed and possession. From about 1660 to the early nineteenth century obsess and obsession are exceedingly rare in English text outside of dictionaries. They then begin to revive, but without any religious connotation, perhaps stimulated by parallel use in French of obséder and obsession.

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for obsess

• abbess
• abscess
• access
• address
• assess
• caress
• confess
• depress
• digress
• distress
• egress
• excess

Kids Definition

obsess

verb

ob·​sess əb-ˈses 

äb-

: to occupy the mind of completely or abnormally

obsessed with this new scheme

Medical Definition

obsess

transitive verb

ob·​sess əb-ˈses, äb- 

: to preoccupy intensely or abnormally

was obsessed with success

intransitive verb

: to engage in obsessive thinking

solve problems rather than obsess about them

—Carol Tavris