occupancy

American  

[ok-yuh-puhn-see] / ˈɒk jə pən si /

noun

• occupancies
  plural

1. the act, state, or condition of being or becoming a tenant or of living in or taking up quarters or space in or on something.

   Continued occupancy of the office depends on a rent reduction.

   Synonyms:

   possession, occupation, tenancy

2. the possession or tenancy of a property.

   You can have occupancy on June 1st.

3. the act of taking possession, as of a property.

4. the term during which one is an occupant.

5. the condition of being occupied.

   Occupancy of the auditorium is limited to 1200 people.

6. the use to which property is put.

7. exercise of dominion over property that has no owner so as to become the legal owner.

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occupancy British  

/ ˈɒkjʊpənsɪ /

noun

1. the act of occupying; possession of a property

2. law the possession and use of property by or without agreement and without any claim to ownership

3. law the act of taking possession of unowned property, esp land, with the intent of thus acquiring ownership

4. the condition or fact of being an occupant, esp a tenant

5. the period of time during which one is an occupant, esp of property

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unoccupancy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• occupancies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of occupancy

First recorded in 1590–1600; occup(ant) + -ancy

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Explanation

Occupancy is the act of owning, renting, or taking possession of a building. When you and your family move into a new house, you are taking occupancy of that home. You're probably most familiar with the word occupancy from signs in auditoriums and concert halls that state the room's "maximum occupancy." A maximum occupancy of 100 means only 100 people can safely fit inside that room at one time. A single-occupancy hotel room is meant for one person. The opposite of occupancy is vacancy––when no one is in possession. Hotels let you know when they have a vacancy by flashing a sign.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

occupancy occupancies

But the city’s hotels only got a 1% bump in occupancy, according to a report published this week by Hospitality Education and Research Organization, a project of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Some destination shopping centres are running at "almost 100% occupancy", she adds.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Just that morning, a City of Durham Fire Department inspector had visited the brewery and provided Ponysaurus with a fresh business occupancy inspection.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Singapore operations are recovering, with bed occupancy rising above 52% in August and September compared with 51% in 2Q, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

On Mount Johnson Island as well as in Florida, then, the same situation prevails — there is some occupancy of nests by adults, some production of eggs, but few or no young birds.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

“But we’re running pretty weak occupancies right now,” he added.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

In Switzerland, cantonal fire-safety authorities may require sprinklers for occupancies of more than 300 people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 4, 2026

She said much of the available accommodation is in "houses of multiple occupancies with shared amenities", but "this position is reflected nationally".

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2025

Mr. Freitag said the lower hotel occupancies in some cities may reflect a lower return-to-office rate in those places, which reduces the ability to have in-person business meetings.

From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2022

Though their final settlement must, of course, be deferred until the coming of peace, some regard will have to be paid, after all, to actual occupancies and accomplished facts.

From Italy at War and the Allies in the West by E. Alexander (Edward Alexander) Powell

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