obsess

verb

ob·​sess əb-ˈses 

äb-

obsessed; obsessing; obsesses

transitive verb

: to haunt or excessively preoccupy the mind of

was obsessed with the idea

She was obsessed with her car.

intransitive verb

: to engage in obsessive thinking : become obsessed with an idea

He's always obsessing over money.

Examples of obsess in a Sentence

The war obsesses him—he talks about nothing else.

You need to stop obsessing and just deal with the problem.

Recent Examples on the Web

Awe As Two Border Collies Use Teamwork To Herd Sheep In Less Than A Minute By Lydia Patrick Life & Trends Reporter 0 The internet is obsessed with a video showing sheep hilariously jumping over a light reflection. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025

He was obsessed with lips, and now I'm known as the lip person. —Allure Editors, Allure, 17 Jan. 2025

Now, those coveted flats are proving to be a long-term shoe investment, with new brands to obsess over and fresh ways to style them all season long. —Cortne Bonilla, Vogue, 15 Jan. 2025

Severance is the sort of puzzle-box show that attracts a rabid fanbase obsessed with piecing together the clues and cracking its mysteries: What is the evil company Lumon up to? —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, in be obscessed "be tormented by (the Devil, an evil spirit)," borrowed from Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidēre "to sit so as to occupy a position, occupy, frequent, besiege, blockade, beset, assail" (Late Latin, "[of a demon] to possess"), from ob- "toward, facing, against" + sedēre "to sit, be seated" — more at ob-, sit entry 1

Note: This verb in its participle form obsessed is fairly common in early Modern English as a metaphorical extension of its Latin etymon in the sense "besiege, beset," the torment attributed to the Devil being compared to the besieging of a fortress. The same applies to the associated noun obsession. With these meanings the word is sometimes accompanied by its synonyms possessed and possession. From about 1660 to the early nineteenth century obsess and obsession are exceedingly rare in English text outside of dictionaries. They then begin to revive, but without any religious connotation, perhaps stimulated by parallel use in French of obséder and obsession.

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

obsess

verb

ob·​sess əb-ˈses 

äb-

: to occupy the mind of completely or abnormally

obsessed with this new scheme

Medical Definition

obsess

transitive verb

ob·​sess əb-ˈses, äb- 

: to preoccupy intensely or abnormally

was obsessed with success

intransitive verb

: to engage in obsessive thinking

solve problems rather than obsess about them

—Carol Tavris