occupied

[ok-yuh-pahyd]

adjective

1. lived in.

   Now that he is no longer a member of the legislature, he and his family must move out of the occupied premises within 30 days.

2. (of space, time, etc.) taken or filled up.

   Have you ever walked into a public restroom and mistakenly opened an occupied stall?

3. taken possession of and controlled by a hostile military force.

   After Germany invaded in 1914, the Belgian Commission for Relief ensured that Belgians living in the occupied region did not starve.

4. employed or engaged, as one’s attention, energy, etc.; busy.

   He is often bored at home, not receiving much attention or affection from his occupied parents.

5. (of a position, office, etc.) held.

   The amount of the salary markup for working under extraordinary conditions depends on the occupied position.

6. Sometimes Occupied (of a place) taken possession of and controlled by demonstrators who see it as symbolic of a social or political issue.

   People stopped outside the occupied library to show their support for those inside, who were protesting cuts to public services.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of occupy.

Other Word Forms

• overoccupied adjective
• self-occupied adjective
• underoccupied adjective
• well-occupied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of occupied¹

occupy ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

I could think of only one group of people who could be using the path in an occupied village so close to the front line: Russian soldiers.

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Russian forces have occupied most of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk, since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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After marching calmly past that and through the centre of the capital, a section of the crowd briefly occupied part of the motorway around Rome.

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There was the defensive switch to shortstop, which occupied much of his focus as he learned a new position on the go.

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In both months, there was about 69% occupancy when shelters reporting zero occupied beds were included.

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Related Words

• engaged 
• peopled www.thesaurus.com
• populated www.thesaurus.com
• settled