preoccupy
verb /priˈɒkjupaɪ/
/priˈɑːkjupaɪ/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they preoccupy | /priˈɒkjupaɪ/ /priˈɑːkjupaɪ/ |
| he / she / it preoccupies | /priˈɒkjupaɪz/ /priˈɑːkjupaɪz/ |
| past simple preoccupied | /priˈɒkjupaɪd/ /priˈɑːkjupaɪd/ |
| past participle preoccupied | /priˈɒkjupaɪd/ /priˈɑːkjupaɪd/ |
| -ing form preoccupying | /priˈɒkjupaɪɪŋ/ /priˈɑːkjupaɪɪŋ/ |
- preoccupy somebody if something is preoccupying you, you think or worry about it very often or all the time
- Thoughts of failure preoccupied him.
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from pre- + occupy, suggested by Latin praeoccupare ‘seize beforehand’.