occur
Americanverb (used without object)
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occurs,
present (3rd person singular)
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occurred,
past participle, past
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occurring
present participle
verb
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to happen; take place; come about
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to be found or be present; exist
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(foll by to) to be realized or thought of (by); suggest itself (to)
Usage
It is usually regarded as incorrect to talk of pre-arranged events occurring or happening : the wedding took place (not occurred or happened ) in the afternoon
Synonym Usage
See happen.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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occursimple
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occurssimple
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have occurredperfect
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has occurredperfect
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am occurringprogressive
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are occurringprogressive
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is occurringprogressive
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have been occurringperfect progressive
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has been occurringperfect progressive
Past
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occurredsimple
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had occurredperfect
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was occurringprogressive
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were occurringprogressive
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had been occurringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of occur
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin occurrere “to run to meet, arrive, meet,” equivalent to oc- oc- + currere “to run”
Explanation
Use the verb occur when an event or a thought happens, like when it occurs to you that you've left home without your umbrella. Maybe you didn't hear the forecast that showers would occur this afternoon. The verb occur comes from the Latin, occurrere, “to meet” or “to present itself.” When something occurs, it comes into being, like a thought that seems to present itself from out of the blue, like when it suddenly occurs to you that you forgot to ask your guests if they'd like a cup of tea, or that it would never occur to your Mother that some people spend a small fortune on handbags. Events can also occur, meaning "take place," like a meeting that will occur tomorrow.
Vocabulary lists containing occur
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Make a Run for It: Cur, Curs
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 4
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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:
They commonly occur when the bladder does not empty completely, leaving concentrated urine that can turn into crystals.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Such days occur when there is broad market selling.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
At a low dose, the drug primarily works by reducing several harmful compensatory responses that occur when the heart is struggling.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
He added firefighters were "still seeing fires occur through maybe carelessness or deliberate action".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The hazmats are trying to arrange for the launch to occur when the planets are as close to one another as possible.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
They linked this effect to prediction error, which occurs when there is a mismatch between what someone expects and what actually happens.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
“The immigration laws enacted by Congress impose consequences when someone who has accrued unlawful presence, leaves the country and later seeks admission, including when that departure occurs under advance parole,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
As his father reminds John during a venting session that occurs after Hal nonchalantly almost kills him, “They’re allowed to have tantrums. We’re not.”
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
There is a seasonal “spring bounce” that occurs when people shop ahead of the summer, possibly flush with an income-tax refund.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
It occurs to me that Atlantis could be the exact opposite of Unity Valley, just like Kristina said it was.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
The alleged incidents are said to have occurred on "various occasions" and involved addresses in Glasgow's east end and South Lanarkshire as well as in a car.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Researchers in the Food Microbial Sciences Unit at the University of Reading tracked the microbial and biochemical changes that occurred as three locally made Oxfordshire cheeses matured.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
The 2023 incident reportedly occurred at a party hosted by Swalwell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Welshman Tarling was competing for the NSN Development Team when the incident occurred on the 166.8km route from Melgaco to Fafe on Friday.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Somehow, it never occurred to me to ask where he truly got all those dreams to sell.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
"But this suggests there may be gradual physiological changes occurring at a population level, and that's something we should be monitoring as part of future climate change policy."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Any use of Mr. Daniels’ NIL occurring after LSU’s receipt of this notice will be deemed knowing and willful and will be pursued vigorously through all available legal and equitable remedies.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
But they are much rarer for any given place, only occurring once in roughly 400 years.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
But in a job market filled with competing signals, this is a big one: Workers’ worries about losing a job to AI don’t match the scale of AI displacement that does seem to be occurring.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
These invasions, both the naturally occurring and those dependent on human assistance, are likely to continue indefinitely.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
