Definition of preempt
transitive verb
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 : 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
4 : to gain a commanding or preeminent place in
5 : to prevent from happening or taking place : forestall, preclude
intransitive verb
: to make a preemptive bid in bridge
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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 of preempt from the Web
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And Perry has suggested the administration may try to preempt state mandates that require utilities to use more renewable power on the grounds that such rules undermine the dependability of the electrical grid.
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WASHINGTON — Democrats want to preempt President Trump on a major unfulfilled campaign promise: a plan to create jobs and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.
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The Sunday morning programs on WUCF TV, Orlando’s PBS station, will be preempted for the station’s membership campaign, which starts Friday.
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These kinds of efforts to preempt or defeat an employee’s later challenge to the termination actually strengthen the employee’s challenge by undermining the credibility of otherwise defensible reasons for the decision.
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This week, Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that will preempt cities and counties from removing Confederacy monuments from public property, according to the Hill.
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But Comey may also have been motivated from a desire to both preempt Russian disinformation and prevent leaks from the FBI itself, as Lawfare’s Susan Hennessey argued on Twitter.
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Memo to Microsoft: 10 Tips for the Era Ahead Preempt the antitrust crusade.
These 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.
Origin and Etymology of preempt
back-formation from preemption
PREEMPT Defined for English Language Learners
preempt
playDefinition of preempt for English Language Learners
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: to prevent (something) from happening
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: to take the place of (something)
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: to be shown instead of (another television program)
Law Dictionary
preempt
playLegal 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
Learn More about preempt
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See words that rhyme with preempt Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for preempt Spanish Central: Translation of preempt Nglish: Translation of preempt for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of preempt for Arabic speakers
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