Showing results for "occupied"

• past tense form of occupy.
• past participle of occupy.

occupied

American  

[ok-yuh-pahyd] / ˈɒk jəˌpaɪd /

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

Etymology

Origin of occupied

occupy ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Something that's occupied is being used or is unavailable. If the sign on the restroom door says occupied, it means there's someone in there and you're just going to have to wait. If every seat on the subway is occupied, you'll have to stand, and if the apartment you were hoping to rent is occupied, you'll have to start your search all over again. When you're busy with work, you're occupied — you're engaged, or distracted by it. And when a country is occupied, it's been invaded and taken over by a foreign power — this last meaning was first used during World War II, referring to German-occupied France.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

occupied

As Lebanon's army deploys in the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Hassan Sbeih is among those reassured by the troops and hoping the move will soon extend to areas still occupied by Israel.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

At that time, the region occupied a strategically important position.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

Roh operates the Art Center Nabi, South Korea’s first media-art museum, which had occupied a floor of SK’s downtown headquarters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Witkoff sat in a row of hard wooden benches often occupied by people aiming to make public displays of support for Trump—J.D.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

There were accommodations for plenty of people, but only a few chairs were occupied at this midnight hour.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• engaged
• peopled
• populated
• settled