preempt

verb

pre·​empt prē-ˈem(p)t 

preempted; preempting; preempts

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

a

: 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., 160 F.3d 1259 (1998)

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

preemptor

prē-ˈem(p)-tər 

noun

Synonyms of preempt

• seize
• usurp
• confiscate
• grab
• steal
• claim
• convert
• occupy

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 on the Web

This week wasn’t a total loss for SerpApi and Perplexity AI, which did manage to get Reddit’s unjust enrichment and unfair competition claims tossed, since they were both preempted by the Copyright Act. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026

The federal pardon, however, doesn’t preempt Fauci from facing possible state charges. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 29 July 2026

But the Court finds the state law is likely preempted in many respects. — Samantha Elkins, NBC news, 27 July 2026

No federal statute currently preempts state disclosure requirements, and firms advising advertisers have generally recommended continued compliance with state law while the question is litigated. — Gabriel Alin Zainescu, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from preemption

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for preempt

• empt
• tempt
• attempt
• contempt
• exempt
• unkempt
• nonexempt

Kids Definition

preempt

verb

pre·​empt prē-ˈem(p)t 

1

a

: to settle upon (as public land) with the right to purchase before others

b

: to take by such a right

2

: to take before someone else can : appropriate

preempt a seat at the stadium

3

: to take the place of

the president's speech preempted the regular program

preemption

-ˈem(p)-shən

noun

preemptive

-ˈem(p)-tiv

adjective

preemptor

-tər 

noun

Legal Definition

preempt

transitive verb

pre·​empt prē-ˈempt 

1

a

: 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)

2

a

: 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