what does preempting mean

Preempting means to take action or do something before someone else does, thereby making their words or actions unnecessary or ineffective. It can also mean to replace or supersede something with something of greater value or priority, or to seize something before others have the chance to do so. In a legal context, preemption refers to a higher authority (such as federal law) overriding a lower authority (such as state law) when there is a conflict. In computing, preemption refers to temporarily interrupting a task to resume it later, often to give priority to another task. In brief, preempting is about acting first to gain an advantage or to prevent another action from happening effectively.