occasion

American  

[uh-key-zhuhn] / əˈkeɪ ʒən /

noun

1. a particular time, especially as marked by certain circumstances or occurrences.

   They met on three occasions.

2. a special or important time, event, ceremony, celebration, etc..

   His birthday will be quite an occasion.

3. a convenient or favorable time, opportunity, or juncture.

   This slack period would be a good occasion to take inventory.

   Synonyms:

   opening, chance

4. the immediate or incidental cause or reason for some action or result.

   What is the occasion for this uproar?

   Synonyms:

   influence, inducement, motive

5. (in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead) the coincidence of the eternal objects forming a specific point-event.

6. Obsolete. occasions,

   1. needs or necessities.

   2. necessary business matters.

      to go about one's lawful occasions.

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verb (used with object)

1. to give occasion or cause for; bring about.

   Synonyms:

   create, produce, originate, motivate

idioms

1. on occasion, now and then; from time to time; occasionally.

   She visits New York on occasion.

occasion British  

/ əˈkeɪʒən /

noun

1. (sometimes foll by of) the time of a particular happening or event

2. (sometimes foll by for) a reason or cause (to do or be something); grounds

   there was no occasion to complain

3. an opportunity (to do something); chance

4. a special event, time, or celebration

   the party was quite an occasion

5. every so often

6. to have the courage, wit, etc, to meet the special demands of a situation

7. to avail oneself of an opportunity (to do something)

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verb

1. (tr) to bring about, esp incidentally or by chance

occasion More Idioms  

1. see on occasion; rise to the occasion.

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Related Words

See cause.

Other Word Forms

• preoccasioned adjective

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

Example Sentences

On that occasion, two of the four - Chelsea and Manchester City - still advanced to the last eight.

From BBC

He showed her a fake BBC lanyard and identification card and on one occasion the woman walked with him to BBC Cymru Wales' headquarters in Central Square where he claimed to work in TV production.

From BBC

He later signed to Sheeran's record label, Gingerbread Records, and has toured and collaborated with him on numerous occasions, even winning an Emmy alongside Sheeran for a song written for the Ted Lasso soundtrack.

From BBC

What an unbelievable day that was, and this one will be another incredible occasion too.

From BBC

It was another tough occasion for Northern Ireland tournament debutant Josh Rock, who was beaten 6-1 by Stephen Bunting in the opening match of the night to leave him still winless after six weeks.

From BBC

Related Words

• affair
• celebration
• circumstance
• episode
• experience
• incident
• milestone
• moment
• scene
• thing
• time