occasional
Americanadjective
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occurring or appearing at irregular or infrequent intervals; occurring now and then.
an occasional headache.
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intended for supplementary use when needed.
an occasional chair.
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pertaining to, arising out of, or intended for the occasion.
occasional verses.
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acting or serving for the occasion or only on particular occasions.
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serving as the occasion or incidental cause.
adjective
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taking place from time to time; not frequent or regular
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of, for, or happening on special occasions
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serving as an occasion (for something)
Other Word Forms
- occasionality noun
- occasionalness noun
- unoccasional adjective
- unoccasionally adverb
Etymology
Origin of occasional
Explanation
When something happens from time to time on an irregular basis, we say it is an occasional occurrence. For example, you might have an occasional lunch with a friend. If your friend ever picked up the bill, maybe it would happen more often. Occasional is a few steps removed from the Latin cadere, "to fall." So you might think of something occasional as something that happens "to fall" just whenever it happens to fall. Speaking of falling, Voltaire once wrote, "The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination." An occasional election might do in a pinch.
Vocabulary lists containing occasional
The Cay
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Island of the Blue Dolphins
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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.
He’s a contractor/carpenter and has money in a high-interest savings account from occasional cash-paying jobs, but he’s never put together any retirement strategy, so he has no investments.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026
The eighth in an occasional series of profiles on Southern California athletes who have flourished in their post-playing careers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
The financial planners in New York regularly give to their church and the occasional school fundraiser.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Like 59% of families who will now receive more, she is working - in her case, full-time for the local council and doing occasional extra shifts at a pub to top-up her income.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
The cries from earlier are gone, with the occasional shrill note coming from the adults in the tree.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
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.
