occasion
Americannoun
-
occasions
plural
-
a particular time, especially as marked by certain circumstances or occurrences.
They met on three occasions.
-
a special or important time, event, ceremony, celebration, etc..
His birthday will be quite an occasion.
-
a convenient or favorable time, opportunity, or juncture.
This slack period would be a good occasion to take inventory.
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the immediate or incidental cause or reason for some action or result.
What is the occasion for this uproar?
- Synonyms:
- influence, inducement, motive
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(in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead) the coincidence of the eternal objects forming a specific point-event.
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Obsolete. occasions,
-
needs or necessities.
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necessary business matters.
to go about one's lawful occasions.
-
verb (used with object)
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occasions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
occasioned,
past participle, past
-
occasioning
present participle
idioms
noun
-
(sometimes foll by of) the time of a particular happening or event
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(sometimes foll by for) a reason or cause (to do or be something); grounds
there was no occasion to complain
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an opportunity (to do something); chance
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a special event, time, or celebration
the party was quite an occasion
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every so often
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to have the courage, wit, etc, to meet the special demands of a situation
-
to avail oneself of an opportunity (to do something)
verb
Synonym Usage
See cause.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
occasionsimple
-
occasionssimple
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have occasionedperfect
-
has occasionedperfect
-
am occasioningprogressive
-
are occasioningprogressive
-
is occasioningprogressive
-
have been occasioningperfect progressive
-
has been occasioningperfect progressive
Past
-
occasionedsimple
-
had occasionedperfect
-
was occasioningprogressive
-
were occasioningprogressive
-
had been occasioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of occasion
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English occasioun, from Old French occasion, from Latin occāsiōn-, stem of occāsiō, literally, “a falling out,” from occās(us) “fallen down” (past participle of occidere “to fall down, set,” from oc- oc- + -cidere, combining form of cadere “to fall”) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Occasion means something special––that happens seldom or is notable when it does. On occasion, we sit down together as a family, but not every day, and never for dinner. When Great Aunt Mabel visits, however, we rise to the occasion and stage a large family meal. Occasion can also mean a designated time or reason something happens, or it can be an event in itself. I'm giving you your grandmother's ring on the occasion of your graduation from high school. I haven't had occasion to look at it since she died. It's valuable, so only wear it on special occasions.
Vocabulary lists containing occasion
English Words Derived from French, List 1
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Introducing Rhetoric: Using the "Available Means" (Chapter 1)
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
He would not give personal details about the pilots and said the investigation was in the early stages, adding "it's far too early to even suggest what has happened in this occasion".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The actress marked the occasion by donning a stunning lace Schiaparelli gown featuring long sleeves and a high neckline.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
French officials likewise used the occasion to try to revive a version of a 2015 nuclear pact, though that fizzled, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Whyland’s Stevie, serving as emcee when the occasion calls for one, combines genuine camaraderie with comic relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The men were becoming very attached to their dogs, making straw mattresses for the dogloos, saving special treats for their favorites, and even crawling into the dogloos on occasion to share the dogs’ warmth.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
It gives Britain one of the biggest sporting occasions it can stage, with tens of thousands of supporters descending on the Principality Stadium.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
In an address to the United Nations Security Council, Altman said that this “must be” one of the occasions where nations band together to defend the “collective good in the face of powerful new technology.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
But on two occasions when guards summoned Kao over the intercom, he refused to enter the visitation room.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
In years past, Aylesworth, who considers herself “a very bougie person,” would only eat caviar at restaurants on special occasions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
On these occasions, Wemmick took his books and papers into Mr. Jaggers’s room, and one of the upstairs clerks came down into the outer office.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
"The absence of our lawyers was occasioned by the state itself, not by ourselves," said Besigye.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Both patterns were probably occasioned by a mixture of motives.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Mr. Trueman contends that the loss of belief in man’s sacredness, depending as it did on a belief in God, occasioned the descent into confusion we constantly regret, without knowing quite why.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Caesar, Hegel writes, was driven by “an unconscious impulse that occasioned the accomplishment of that for which the time was ripe.”
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
We know merely what disasters his mendacity occasioned.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Such supernatural activity is accompanied by extreme close-ups of an eye, occasioning thoughts of Sauron, and sometimes an unintelligible voice that occasions thoughts of the Beastie Boys’ ”Intergalactic.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2024
Thursday’s D-Day anniversary — the 80th — is occasioning somber and anxious reflections about the fate of the Atlantic alliance.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
But a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court found her not guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2023
But if the ritual is rote and simple, the human stories occasioning it are the opposite.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2020
Theresa poked a finger in a soft spot of plaster, occasioning a moist avalanche.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
