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pre·empt | \ prē-ˈem(p)t 
\
\preempted; preempting; preempts
Definition of preempt
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
3a : 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
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.
4 : to gain a commanding or preeminent place in
: to make a preemptive bid in bridge
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Other Words from preempt
preemptor \ prē-ˈem(p)-tər \ noun
\ noun
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.
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Recent Examples on the Web DeSantis said last week Florida will not pull back from phase two relaxations, but would not preempt local governments from imposing restrictions, such as beach closures and mandatory mask orders.
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John Haughey, Washington Examiner, "After celebrating Memorial Day openings, Florida cities closing beaches for July 4," 1 July 2020 Enbridge counters that the pipelines have remained safe for 67 years, and that federal regulators preempt any state safety regulation on the interstate pipelines.
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Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, "Judge to Enbridge: Keep one Straits pipeline shut down; test the other," 1 July 2020 Goldman told Ars that Section 230 is likely to preempt most of the claims in the lawsuit, allowing YouTube to dispose of it quickly.
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Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Lawsuit by Black YouTubers against YouTube faces “uphill battle”," 25 June 2020 My intention was also to preempt any questions that might be directed to my mother.
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Cnn Staff, CNN, "Like Riding a Roller Coaster in the Dark: Dr. Sanjay Gupta's coronavirus podcast for June 1," 1 June 2020 Eluding onerous regulations The other motivator is preempting government regulation, which becomes a greater risk during and after a crisis.
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Steven Kreft, The Conversation, "Why Ford, Chanel and other companies pitch in during a crisis – without the government ordering them to," 22 May 2020 Charter is suing Maine to block a new state law that requires prorated refunds when cable customers cancel service mid-month, claiming that the requirement is a form of rate regulation and is preempted by federal law.
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Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "Charter tells court that its no-refund policy helps prevent price increases," 15 May 2020 This may not be the final word, however, because the Chamber of Commerce is lobbying Congress to pass a federal law to preempt CCPA.
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Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, "New California Law Giving Consumers Control Over Their Data Sets Off a Scramble," 18 Dec. 2019 House Republicans argue Trump did nothing wrong and released their own 123-page report on Monday to preempt Democrats' accusations.
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USA TODAY, "Read the full impeachment inquiry report from the House Intelligence Committee," 4 Dec. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'preempt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for preempt
preempt
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of preempt
formal : to prevent (something) from happening
formal : to take the place of (something)
US : to be shown instead of (another television program)
See the full definition for preempt in the English Language Learners Dictionary
preempt
transitive verbpre·empt | \ prē-ˈempt \
\Legal Definition of preempt
1a : 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)
2a : 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
b : to preclude or bar (an action) by preemption
federal airline deregulation does not preempt claims under state contract law — National Law Journal
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Time Traveler for preempt
The first known use of preempt was in 1850
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