occupy
Americanverb (used with object)
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occupies,
present (3rd person singular)
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occupied,
past participle, past
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occupying
present participle
-
to take or fill up (space, time, etc.).
I occupied my evenings reading novels.
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to engage or employ the mind, energy, or attention of.
Occupy the children with a game while I prepare dinner.
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to be a resident or tenant of; dwell in.
We occupied the same house for 20 years.
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to hold (a position, office, etc.).
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to take possession and control of (a place), as by military invasion.
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Usually Occupy to participate in a protest about (a social or political issue), as by taking possession or control of buildings or public places that are symbolic of the issue.
Let’s Occupy our voting rights!
The Occupy Wall Street movement of late 2011 was a protest against economic inequality.
verb (used without object)
-
occupies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
occupied,
past participle, past
-
occupying
present participle
-
to take or hold possession.
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Usually Occupy to participate in a protest about a social or political issue.
adjective
verb
-
to live or be established in (a house, flat, office, etc)
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(often passive) to keep (a person) busy or engrossed; engage the attention of
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(often passive) to take up (a certain amount of time or space)
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to take and hold possession of, esp as a demonstration
students occupied the college buildings
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to fill or hold (a position or rank)
Synonym Usage
See have.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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occupysimple
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occupiessimple
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have occupiedperfect
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has occupiedperfect
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am occupyingprogressive
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are occupyingprogressive
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is occupyingprogressive
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have been occupyingperfect progressive
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has been occupyingperfect progressive
Past
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occupiedsimple
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had occupiedperfect
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was occupyingprogressive
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were occupyingprogressive
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had been occupyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of occupy
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English occupien, from Middle French occuper, from Latin occupāre “to seize, take hold, take up, make one's own,” equivalent to oc- oc- + -cup-, combining form of capere “to take, seize” + -āre infinitive suffix
Explanation
When you spend a lot of your free time reading tea leaves, you occupy yourself with that pastime, meaning it takes up your time and keeps you busy. An army can invade another country and occupy its territory, and this use of the word reflects its original Latin meaning, which was "to seize." There are also less aggressive forms of occupation, as with the family of chipmunks who occupy your garden. If you are the mayor of your town, you occupy an important office. And if you're a fan of Andy Warhol, a series of Campbell's soup can paintings may occupy a prominent place on your walls.
Vocabulary lists containing occupy
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“They occupy several worlds at once,” senior media analyst at entertainment research company Exhibitor Relations Jeff Bock said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The gondola would occupy only a small slice of the 32-acre space, but it would be a visible distraction from every inch of the park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
In general, guardians have fewer rights than private renters, external because they hold a "licence to occupy" rather than a tenancy.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Lanthanides occupy the upper row, while actinides appear below them.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
As one of his biographers put it, his body did not just occupy space; it seemed to organize the space around it.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The 59-year-old zoo, which occupies 133 acres in the northeast corner of Griffith Park, has also struggled to maintain its national accreditation, with federal regulators finding peeling paint and rust in some exhibits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Faiza Saeed, Cravath’s leader for the last decade, said it has been very intentional in staying small, and occupies a different niche in the market than some of its much larger rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
"The catastrophe occupies almost the entire image and yet somehow appears relegated to the background," the French daily said, adding the photo painted an uncomfortable portrait of a generation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Einstein famously stated that "The second law of thermodynamics occupies a unique position among the laws of Nature," reflecting his view that it was one of the most secure and fundamental principles in physics.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
The party occupies an entire hallway, the doors of the individual rooms all open.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The first occupied a roped-off parking lot beside an elementary school.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
More than a quarter of homes in the United States with three or more bedrooms are occupied exclusively by people aged 65 or older, up from 19% two decades ago, the Economist recently reported.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
ITV Studios has applied to Leeds City Council to remain at the farm site in Harewood which the show has occupied since 1997.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Legislators in America’s early decades occupied temporary chambers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Card playing, guessing games, impersonations, listening to gramophone records, slide lectures, reading aloud—the men found ways of entertaining themselves and keeping their thoughts occupied in the long, dark winter months.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
For the first time since 1985-86, England's top flight will begin without Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola occupying a dugout.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
By occupying this unusual position, the genus helps fill an important gap in the existing classification system.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Even Tory sympathizers came to resent the manners of the occupying force.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
And so it will, for at least several more years, Austin Reaves now occupying a Laker leading sidekick role made famous during their championship years by the likes of Anthony Davis and Pau Gasol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
In front of the door stood a green city bus with soldiers occupying the rear seats.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
