PRE-EMPTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pre-emption mean? 

• PRE-EMPTION (noun)
  The noun PRE-EMPTION has 4 senses:

1. the judicial principle asserting the supremacy of federal over state legislation on the same subject

2. the right of a government to seize or appropriate something (as property)

3. the right to purchase something in advance of others

4. a prior appropriation of something

  Familiarity information: PRE-EMPTION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PRE-EMPTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The judicial principle asserting the supremacy of federal over state legislation on the same subject

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

pre-emption; preemption

Hypernyms ("pre-emption" is a kind of...):

judicial doctrine; judicial principle; legal principle ((law) a principle underlying the formulation of jurisprudence)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The right of a government to seize or appropriate something (as property)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

pre-emption; preemption

Hypernyms ("pre-emption" is a kind of...):

legal right (a right based in law)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The right to purchase something in advance of others

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

pre-emption; preemption

Hypernyms ("pre-emption" is a kind of...):

right (an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pre-emption"):

preemptive right (the right granting to shareholders the first opportunity to buy a new issue of stock; provides protection against dilution of the shareholder's ownership interest)

subscription right (the right of a shareholder in a company to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is offered to the public)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A prior appropriation of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

pre-emption; preemption

Context example:

the preemption of bandwidth by commercial interests

Hypernyms ("pre-emption" is a kind of...):

appropriation (a deliberate act of acquisition of something, often without the permission of the owner)