preoccupy
To distract; to draw attention elsewhereTo distract; to draw attention elsewhere.
» Tom is preoccupied with his studies.
Meaning
3 senses(transitive)To distract; to draw attention elsewhere.
The father tried to preoccupy the child with his keys.
(transitive)To worry or concern (someone) so as to distract them.
It always preoccupies me when he acts like this.
(obsolete, transitive)To occupy or take possession of beforehand.
occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance
Examples
43 sentencesTom is preoccupied with his studies.
Tom seemed preoccupied with other things.
Tom is a little preoccupied right now.
Right now Tom is a little preoccupied.
It looks like Tom is a little preoccupied.
Origin
From pre- + occupy, after Middle French preoccuper, and its source, Latin praeoccupo, praeFrom pre- + occupy, after Middle French preoccuper, and its source, Latin praeoccupo, praeoccupare. Doublet of preoccupate, now obsolete.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
preoccupies, preoccupying, preoccupied, preoccupied| Base form | preoccupy · to preoccupy |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | preoccupies |
| Present participle | preoccupying |
| Past simple | preoccupied |
| Past participle | preoccupied |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
1 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
Collocations
3 patterns- a little preoccupied
- seemed preoccupied
- little preoccupied