occupy
Americanverb (used with object)
-
occupies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
occupied,
past participle, past
-
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.
-
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)
-
(often passive) to keep (a person) busy or engrossed; engage the attention of
-
(often passive) to take up (a certain amount of time or space)
-
to take and hold possession of, esp as a demonstration
students occupied the college buildings
-
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
-
has been occupyingperfect progressive
Past
-
occupiedsimple
-
had occupiedperfect
-
was occupyingprogressive
-
were occupyingprogressive
-
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
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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:
The team observed fluid moving from the back of the eye into the surrounding orbital tissues, which occupy the space around the eyeball.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Some of the more dramatic effects from global warming are taking place in the poles, which occupy around 20 percent of the global ocean surface.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The transfers keep oil moving but occupy ships that would otherwise be available for other cargoes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
And now we have arrived at Alison Roman selling “A Very Good Sauce,” including a jar inspired by the caramelized-shallot-and-anchovy pasta that once briefly seemed to occupy half the internet.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
And with what important matters did Thyon Nero occupy his mind?
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Moscow currently occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Those words capture a central tension in the sprawling show, which occupies interconnected galleries at the far end of the museum’s Resnick Pavilion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Unlike most reporters, Grozev occupies a unique role: part journalist, part fixer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Homo erectus, or H.erectus, occupies an important place in human evolutionary history because it was the first species in the genus Homo known to have migrated out of Africa.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
He almost completely occupies it; he’s large and barrel-shaped with a stately, pockmarked face, gray hair, big eyebrows, and a firm handshake.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Hundreds of tents have occupied Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square since she was taken away on a stretcher last month after the real estate company that owned her flat drastically hiked the rent.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The road that the CJP had occupied for weeks earlier this summer seeking education reforms remained barricaded at both ends, guarded by thousands of police and paramilitary personnel.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
In the weeks since, they made their way out of the occupied territories and out of Russia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
This suggests animals may have occupied environments different from those represented in the Kheseen deposits, or that the chemical conditions responsible for fossilization there were not suitable for preserving animal remains.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
All occupied territories in France and Belgium were to be evacuated immediately, and all territory conquered in eastern Europe since 1914, including lands ceded by Russia at Brest-Litovsk, was to be surrendered.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
And so, that actually is what’s been occupying me in large part for the last 10+ years in my research.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
Germany gained control of the facility after occupying Norway in April 1940.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
I think you've seen today a lot of times running them in behind and just showing strength against occupying defenders is one of the main things.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Currently occupying a repurposed warehouse near the farmers market, the museum is set to move to a new site with twice the gallery space in 2029.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Instead, everyone had to be wary of the soldiers occupying their town.
From "Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps" by Andrea Warren
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