preempt C2+ Topic:Register & Style US /ˌpɹiːˈɛmpt/ See IPA manual Freq #72103 Meanings 1 verb take the place of or have precedence over Live broadcast of the presidential debate preempts the regular news hour. 2 verb To appropriate first. He preempted that hill to be its king. 3 verb To displace or take the place of (by having higher precedence, etc). Floppy disks were preempted by CDs. 4 verb To prevent or beat to the punch, to forestall an expected occurrence by acting first. By his statement, the Secretary-General had effectively preempted the usual frustrating debates over questions of fact and law. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · take the place of or have... displace 4 verb · to prevent or beat to the... ninja Word family Derived forms preemptablepreemptiblepreemptivepreemptorpreemptory Etymology Back-formation from preemption. Topics Register & Style External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # preempt **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˌpɹiːˈɛmpt/ **Frequency rank:** 72103 ## Meanings 1. take the place of or have precedence over 2. To appropriate first. 3. To displace or take the place of (by having higher precedence, etc). 4. To prevent or beat to the punch, to forestall an expected occurrence by acting first. ## Examples - Live broadcast of the presidential debate preempts the regular news hour. - He preempted that hill to be its king. - Floppy disks were preempted by CDs. - By his statement, the Secretary-General had effectively preempted the usual frustrating debates over questions of fact and law. ## Synonyms - displace - ninja ## Derived Forms - preemptable - preemptible - preemptive - preemptor - preemptory ## Etymology Back-formation from preemption. ## Topics - Register & Style markdown