pre-empt verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes . . . pre-empt somebody something to do or say something before somebody else does She was just about to apologize when he pre-empted her I do not want to pre-empt anything that the treasurer is going to say It would be wrong for me to pre-empt any future decision the committee might make
Preempt - definition of preempt by The Free Dictionary To take action to prevent (an event or other action) from happening; forestall: "The [Joint] Chiefs proposed the use of nuclear weapons to preempt China's anticipated attack on Formosa" (James Carroll)
PRE-EMPT definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary If you pre-empt an action, you prevent it from happening by doing something which makes it unnecessary or impossible You can pre-empt pain by taking a painkiller at the first warning sign [VERB noun] He pre-empted any decision to sack him [VERB noun] The government pre-empted a threatened strike at the state-owned copper company [VERB noun]
preempt - Wiktionary, the free dictionary preempt (third-person singular simple present preempts, present participle preempting, simple past and past participle preempted) (transitive) To appropriate first quotations He preempted that hill to be its king
Preempt - Definition, Meaning Synonyms | Vocabulary. com Preempt means to displace or take something before others can Preempt combines the Latin prefix prae-, "before," with emere, "to buy " Think old-fashioned land grabs and midnight madness sales It can also mean to replace one thing with another that’s more important