PREOCCUPY

preoccupy

(verb) engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively; “His work preoccupies him”; “The matter preoccupies her completely--she cannot think of anything else”

preoccupy

(verb) occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance; “the army preoccupied the hills”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

preoccupy (third-person singular simple present preoccupies, present participle preoccupying, simple past and past participle preoccupied)

(transitive) To distract; to occupy or draw attention elsewhere.

(transitive) To occupy or take possession of beforehand.

Source: Wiktionary


Pre*oc"cu*py, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preoccupied (-pid); p. pr. & vb. n. Preoccupying.] Etym: [Cf. F. préoccuper. See Preoccupate, Occupy.]

1. To take possession of before another; as, to preoccupy a country not before held.

2. To prepossess; to engage, occupy, or engross the attention of, beforehand; hence, to prejudice. I Think it more respectful to the reader to leave something to reflections than to preoccupy his judgment. Arbuthnot.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

31 May 2025

AMATORY

(adjective) expressive of or exciting sexual love or romance; “her amatory affairs”; “amorous glances”; “a romantic adventure”; “a romantic moonlight ride”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

“Coffee, the favorite drink of the civilized world.” – Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States

coffee icon