pre-emptive
adjective/ˌpriː ˈemptɪv/
/ˌpriː ˈemptɪv/
[usually before noun]- done to stop somebody taking action, especially action that will be harmful to yourself
- a pre-emptive attack/strike on the military base
Oxford Collocations DictionaryPre-emptive is used with these nouns:- action
- attack
- move
- …
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
pre-emptive