preempt
verb
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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
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noun
Synonyms for preempt
Synonyms
appropriate, arrogate, commandeer, convert, expropriate, pirate, press, seize, take over, usurp
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Examples of preempt in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As usual, Gaffigan's appeal has a lot to do with preempting criticism. — John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter, "' Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape': Film Review," 12 July 2018 Congress can preempt this by passing legislation of its own that would overrule Flores. — Dara Lind, Vox, "The new order replaces family separation with family detention.," 20 June 2018 House Republicans are planning to caucus in December to marshal behind a candidate, an aim at preempting Democratic input. — Jasper Scherer, San Antonio Express-News, "Straus’ presence felt at convention despite his absence," 16 June 2018 But disclosing them not only is honest, says UW Director of Research Communications Terry Devitt, but can also preempt animal rights groups like the Milford, Ohio–based Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN). — David Grimm, Science | AAAS, "‘A cataclysmic wake-up call’: Can more candor win back support for animal research?," 26 June 2018 Under that plan, the coalition of states led by California — which accounts for more than a third of all vehicles sold nationwide — would be preempted from imposing their own rules. — Evan Halper, latimes.com, "Colorado joins California in fight to prevent Trump from weakening auto emissions rules," 19 June 2018 The Sunday morning programs on WUCF TV will be preempted for the PBS station’s fund drive, which ends Sunday. — Hal Boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Trump confidant Roger Stone talks to Ybeth Bruzual," 14 June 2018 One is the purely medical: Give the drug to patients and maybe preempt or treat the dissociative side effects with other drugs. — Moises Velasquez-manoff, WIRED, "Ketamine Stirs Up Hope—and Controversy—as a Depression Drug," 8 May 2018 But the Romney pivot was preempted and ruined by Barack Obama’s June 2012 DACA initiative, which to some extent may have been designed to do just that. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Yes, Romney the Presidential Candidate Was Right-Wing on Immigration," 28 Mar. 2018These 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
verb
English Language Learners Definition of preempt
: to prevent (something) from happening
: to take the place of (something)
: to be shown instead of (another television program)
See the full definition for preempt in the English Language Learners Dictionary
preempt
transitive verb
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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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