pre-emption
noun
Pre-emption — the hyphenated form of claiming priority over a contested resource
Definition
A prior appropriation of something; "the preemption of bandwidth by commercial interests"
In depth
Pre-emption, like preemption, names the prior appropriation of something, the hyphenated spelling variant carrying identical meaning. The phrase describes the strategic securing of a resource, right, or opportunity before competing claims can be established.
Origin
The hyphenation reflects an intermediate stage common in the development of English compound words, gradually transitioning from two separate words through a hyphenated phase before potentially settling into a single closed compound, a process 'preemption' has largely, though not entirely, completed in contemporary usage.
Usage examples
"The pre-emption of bandwidth by commercial interests sparked renewed calls for stricter regulatory oversight."
"Legal scholars debated the doctrine of pre-emption at length, particularly its application to conflicts between federal and state authority."
"Television networks once used pre-emption regularly to interrupt scheduled programming for breaking news coverage."
How to use it
Pre-emption and preemption are fully interchangeable; the hyphenated form is somewhat more traditional, while the closed compound has become increasingly standard in contemporary American usage, particularly in legal and political writing.
Related concepts
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