preoccupy

verb

pre·​oc·​cu·​py (ˌ)prē-ˈä-kyə-ˌpī 

preoccupied; preoccupying; preoccupies

transitive verb

1

: to engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or preferentially

2

: to take possession of or fill beforehand or before another

Examples of preoccupy in a Sentence

The question of life after death has preoccupied many philosophers.

Recent Examples on the Web

And Spanish voters are preoccupied with a housing crisis, debates over services for migrants, and the government’s handling of natural disasters, including floods in recent years that left hundreds of people dead. —Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 13 May 2026

And for a market often preoccupied with price, that shift may prove its most enduring investment. —Andrew S. Jacobson, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2026

Right about that time, Hunt also was engaging the gears that would lead to something else that preoccupied him the rest of his life. —Kansas City Star, 12 May 2026

The second half of The Testaments’s first season is preoccupied with backstory. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin praeoccupare, literally, to seize in advance, from prae- + occupare to seize, occupy

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for preoccupy

• abscissae
• adonai
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi

Kids Definition

preoccupy

verb

pre·​oc·​cu·​py (ˈ)prē-ˈäk-yə-ˌpī 

1

: to hold the attention of beforehand

2

: to take possession of before another

preoccupation

(ˌ)prē-ˌäk-yə-ˈpā-shən

noun