From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpreoccupypre‧oc‧cu‧py /priːˈɒkjəpaɪ $ -ˈɑːk-/ verb (preoccupied, preoccupying, preoccupies) [transitive] formalWORRIED if something preoccupies someone, they think or worry about it a lot→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
preoccupy• Remember: throughout the book Don Quixote is preoccupied by the question of posterity.• Kent was silent, preoccupied, deep in thought.• These questions have preoccupied fine minds for centuries, with interest intensifying from the late nineteenth century to the present day.• The experience was enough to keep him preoccupied for some time.• Mainly because, as a child, I was too preoccupied with Chanukah to care what my gentile friends were doing.• Much of the discussion in the 19705 was preoccupied with global cooling, not warming.• He got preoccupied with my left hand and the right hook came in over his shoulder.• And though I tried to respond, I was mostly preoccupied with my pain. 