preoccupy

Verb

engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively
occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance
To distract; to draw attention elsewhere.
To worry or concern (someone) so as to distract them.
To occupy or take possession of beforehand.

Examples

It always preoccupies me when he acts like this.
The father tried to preoccupy the child with his keys.

Origin / Etymology

From pre- + occupy, after Middle French preoccuper, and its source, Latin praeoccupo, praeoccupare. Doublet of preoccupate, now obsolete.

Synonyms

exercise

Scrabble Score: 20

preoccupy: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
preoccupy: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
preoccupy: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 24

preoccupy: valid Words With Friends Word