Preemption Definition

prē-ĕmpshən
pre-emption
noun
The act or right of buying land, etc. before, or in preference to, others; esp., such a right granted to a settler on public land.
Webster's New World
Action taken for the purpose of preventing something else from happening.
Webster's New World
A purchase made by such a right.
American Heritage
Prior seizure of, appropriation of, or claim to something, such as property.
American Heritage
The action of preempting, as the use of military force in a preemptive attack.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Preemption

Noun

Singular:
preemption
Plural:
preemptions, premptions

Origin of Preemption

  • pre– Latin ēmptiō ēmptiōn- buying (from ēmptus) (past participle of emere to buy em- in Indo-European roots)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Medieval Latin praeÄ“mptiō (“previous purchase"), from praeemō (“buy before"), from Latin prae- (“before") + emō (“buy").

    From Wiktionary

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