1. Preoccupation is a state of being focused on and engrossed in something, or the thing that you are engrossed in.
   1. When you become obsessed with knitting, this is an example of a preoccupation with knitting.
   2. When you become obsessed with knitting, this is an example of when knitting is your new preoccupation.

preoccupation

preoccupation

noun

1. The state of being preoccupied; absorption of the attention or intellect.
2. Something that preoccupies or engrosses the mind: Money was their chief preoccupation.

preoccupation

Noun

(plural preoccupations)

1. The state of being preoccupied or an idea that preoccupies the mind; enthrallment.
2. The act of occupying something before someone else.

Origin

pre- +‎ occupation