[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/preoccupation.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / preoccupation

[← P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/P/)

# preoccupation

«preoccupation» in Mova's school dictionary: **A state of thinking about one thing so much that you…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a preoccupation, preoccupations; preoccupation uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A state of thinking about one thing so much that you hardly notice other things: «In his preoccupation, he missed the bus.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#m1)

2) Something that fills your mind all the time, a worry or strong interest: «Football is his main preoccupation.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In stories it shows a character lost in thought or worried; in everyday life it names what someone cares about most. Phrases: «a preoccupation with», «main preoccupation», «lost in preoccupation».

### examples

- Her preoccupation with the test made her forget her lunch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#x1)
- Winning the cup was the team's only preoccupation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#x2)
- Dad's main preoccupation is paying the bills. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#x3)
- His preoccupation with his phone annoyed his gran. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#x4)
- The writer's great preoccupation was the sea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#x5)
- In her preoccupation she walked straight past her friend. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/#x6)

### note

Countable when it means a thing that fills your mind (preoccupations); uncountable when it means the state. Use «with»: a preoccupation with money. Adjective: preoccupied; verb: preoccupy. Not about «occupation» (a job), though it shares the root.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «preoccupation» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/preoccupation/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.