Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "preoccupied" []

  • Absorbed in thought; engrossed. (adjective)
  • Excessively concerned with something; distracted. (adjective)
  • Formerly or already occupied. (adjective)
  • Already used and therefore unavailable for further use. Used of taxonomic names. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "preoccupied" in a sentence
  • "I think your last point on being preoccupied is so right as far as a creativity killer."
  • "His eyes were restless, his expression preoccupied, his manner haughty."
  • "67More than fifty years after the first African nations achieved independence we should ask why historians 'eyes remain preoccupied with "progress," which has largely emphasized the history of societies through the analytical lenses of politics and economics."