occupy
Americanverb (used with object)
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occupies,
present (3rd person singular)
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occupied,
past participle, past
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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
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to live or be established in (a house, flat, office, etc)
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(often passive) to keep (a person) busy or engrossed; engage the attention of
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(often passive) to take up (a certain amount of time or space)
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to take and hold possession of, esp as a demonstration
students occupied the college buildings
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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
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has been occupyingperfect progressive
Past
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occupiedsimple
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had occupiedperfect
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was occupyingprogressive
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were occupyingprogressive
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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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
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:
Lozano will occupy a designated player spot, becoming the new offensive leader of the team coached by Greg Vanney for the final stretch of the season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Two of his other Classics books -- "Mythos" and "Troy" -- occupy the second and fifth spots respectively on the online giant's list.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Now, Lamboria is beginning to occupy that role herself.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The species also appears to occupy a significant position in the evolutionary history of apes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
John Adams and his wife, Abigail, had been the first to occupy the building, which was still unfinished in November 1800 when the Adamses first moved in.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Personal photos are displayed throughout, his beloved leather-bound books fill the library, and a wide range of memorabilia occupies the office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Its size and position indicate that it occupies the same underground system that supplied magma to the ancient eruption.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
"The catastrophe occupies almost the entire image and yet somehow appears relegated to the background," the French daily said, adding the photo painted an uncomfortable portrait of a generation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The brainstem occupies only a sliver of the brain, yet it keeps people alive.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
It occupies so much space in her house she must step carefully around it in the dark.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Residents remember the previous bar that occupied the ground-floor commercial space was a bad neighbor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
The Committee to Protect Journalists says 27 journalists and media workers have been killed this year, including nine in Lebanon and seven in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Japan occupied all of Korea before its 1945 surrender in the Second World War, after which the peninsula was divided into separate states along the 38th parallel.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Instead of following a single ecological route, early snakes appear to have occupied several habitats and developed different sensory adaptations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
The freedom to inspect the road and trees kept him occupied for a while, but then he tired of this constant inspection and slithered between Anya and Ivan.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
For the first time since 1985-86, England's top flight will begin without Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola occupying a dugout.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
By occupying this unusual position, the genus helps fill an important gap in the existing classification system.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and the former executive editor of the Hollywood Reporter, sees Tilly occupying an uncomfortable middle ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Even Tory sympathizers came to resent the manners of the occupying force.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
I hadn’t thought much of the Collective actually occupying the planet.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
