occasion

[uh-key-zhuhn]

noun

1. a particular time, especially as marked by certain circumstances or occurrences.

   They met on three occasions.

2. a special or important time, event, ceremony, celebration, etc..

   His birthday will be quite an occasion.

3. a convenient or favorable time, opportunity, or juncture.

   This slack period would be a good occasion to take inventory.

   Synonyms: opening, chance

4. the immediate or incidental cause or reason for some action or result.

   What is the occasion for this uproar?

   Synonyms: influence, inducement, motive

5. (in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead) the coincidence of the eternal objects forming a specific point-event.

6. Obsolete.,  occasions,

   1. needs or necessities.

   2. necessary business matters.

      to go about one's lawful occasions.

verb (used with object)

1. to give occasion or cause for; bring about.

   Synonyms: create, produce, originate, motivate

occasion

/ əˈkeɪʒən /

noun

1. (sometimes foll by of) the time of a particular happening or event

2. (sometimes foll by for) a reason or cause (to do or be something); grounds

   there was no occasion to complain

3. an opportunity (to do something); chance

4. a special event, time, or celebration

   the party was quite an occasion

5. every so often

6. to have the courage, wit, etc, to meet the special demands of a situation

7. to avail oneself of an opportunity (to do something)

verb

1. (tr) to bring about, esp incidentally or by chance

Other Word Forms

• preoccasioned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of occasion¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English occasioun, from Old French occasion, from Latin occāsiōn-, stem of occāsiō, literally, “a falling out,” from occās(us) “fallen down” (past participle of occidere “to fall down, set,” from oc- oc- + -cidere, combining form of cadere “to fall”) + -iō -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of occasion¹

C14: from Latin occāsiō a falling down, from occidere, from ob- down + cadere to fall

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on occasion, now and then; from time to time; occasionally.

   She visits New York on occasion.

see on occasion; rise to the occasion.

Synonym Study

See cause.

Example Sentences

On another occasion, after one of Liam's meltdowns, his parents called the police as they had been advised to in a situation like this.

Read more on BBC

The occasion purportedly gets its name from the mid-twentieth century, when tourists flocked to Philadelphia in advance of the annual Army-Navy college football game.

Read more on Barron's

Many even wear it while working from home, which shows how scent has shifted from being an occasion to part of daily life.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Welty’s trips abroad offered an occasion for some of her best letters to Lyell.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Friends sometimes want to impress on big occasions, and you may find that old irritation returning.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• affair 
• celebration 
• circumstance 
• episode 
• experience 
• incident 
• milestone 
• moment 
• scene 
• thing 
• time