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

That different direction means a move away from artists sharing the spotlight of the grand final, one of the great annual crossover moments for a country obsessed with music and sport. — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2026

Coincidentally, our producer had a meeting with Rob Lowe and gave him the script and he was obsessed. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026

For the past two years, enterprise AI leaders have obsessed over which model is best. — Samir Dutta, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Few literary novelists are as obsessed with the past—as a place, an archive, and a storehouse. — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 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