preempt /ˌpɹiːˈɛmpt/verb 5noun 2forms 3 verb5 •to stop an expected event from taking place by acting before it canBy his statement, the Secretary-General had effectively preempted the usual frustrating debates over questions of fact and law. — 1985 •To displace or take the place of (by having higher precedence, etc).Floppy disks were preempted by CDs. •to take land or other property for yourself before anyone else can, sometimes by a legal right to buy it firstHe preempted that hill to be its king. •To secure (land, etc.) by the right of preemption (purchasing before others, e.g. land because one already occupies it). •to make an unusually high bid in the card game bridge, in order to make it hard for the opponents to bid well noun2 •A preemptive bid. •A guaranteed publication deal contingent upon the work being immediately taken off the market and offered to nobody else.Penguin Press editor-in-chief Scott Moyers paid low six figures in a preempt for North American rights to a debut Spanish novel titled The Creator's Map; […] — 2006 formspreempted · preempting · preempts
