pre-emption
|pre-emp-tion|
🇺🇸
/priːˈɛm(p)ʃən/
🇬🇧
/priːˈem(p)ʃ(ə)n/
taking before others
Etymology
'pre-emption' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'praeemptio', where 'prae-' meant 'before' and 'emere' meant 'to buy'.
'pre-emption' changed from Medieval Latin 'praeemptio' and Old French 'preemption' into Middle English 'pre-emption' and eventually became the modern English word 'pre-emption' (also spelled 'preemption' in American English).
Initially it meant 'the act of buying beforehand' or 'the right to buy before others'; over time the meaning broadened to include 'taking action before someone else' in political, military and technical contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the action of taking action before others in order to prevent their action; the act of forestalling or precluding.
Their company's pre-emption of the market made it difficult for competitors to enter.
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Noun 2
a legal right to purchase property before it is offered to others; also called a right of pre-emption or right of first refusal.
The lease included a pre-emption in favor of the tenant if the owner decided to sell.
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Noun 3
in military or political contexts, placing forces or taking measures first to prevent an opponent's action (related to 'pre-emptive' actions).
The government's pre-emption of the disputed territory averted a wider conflict.
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Noun 4
in computing and operating systems, the interruption of a task by the scheduler to assign CPU time to another task (process pre-emption).
The OS's pre-emption of the running process allowed the high-priority task to run immediately.
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Last updated: 2025/11/02 04:35