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

In recent weeks, the civil war was revitalized as Assad’s allies in Iran and Russia were preoccupied with their own conflicts, allowing rebel forces to close in on Damascus. —Ty Roush, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024

So, that is going to preoccupy me between now and January 20th. —ABC News, 1 Dec. 2024

President Trump would not be well served by having an attorney general who was preoccupied for a year or more with his own fate. —Robert J. Delahunty, National Review, 20 Nov. 2024

Advertisement The rapid advance by insurgents is a stunning reversal of fortunes for Syria’s President Bashar Assad, who appears to be largely on his own, with erstwhile allies preoccupied with other conflicts. —Bassem Mroue, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024

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

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