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
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
11 January 2025
(noun) low evergreen shrub of high north temperate regions of Europe and Asia and America bearing red edible berries
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
