pre-emption

Noun
Synonyms: preemption

Open English WordNet

Noun (4)

  1. the judicial principle asserting the supremacy of federal over state legislation on the same subjectSynonyms: preemptionType of legal principle, judicial principle
  2. the right of a government to seize or appropriate something (as property)Synonyms: preemptionType of legal right
  3. the right to purchase something in advance of othersSynonyms: preemptionType of rightKinds subscription right, preemptive right
  4. a prior appropriation of something“the preemption of bandwidth by commercial interests”Synonyms: preemptionType of appropriation
Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Preemption \Pre*["e]mp"tion\ (?; 215), n. [Pref. pre- + emption: cf. F. pr['e]emption. See Redeem.] The act or right of purchasing before others. Specifically: (a) The privilege or prerogative formerly enjoyed by the king of buying provisions for his household in preference to others. [Eng.] (b) The right of an actual settler upon public lands (particularly those of the United States) to purchase a certain portion at a fixed price in preference to all other applicants. --Abbott. [1913 Webster]
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