occupant
Americannoun
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a person, family, group, or organization that lives in, occupies, or has quarters or space in or on something.
the occupant of a taxicab; the occupants of the building.
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a tenant of a house, estate, office, etc.; resident.
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Law.
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an owner through occupancy.
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one who is in actual possession.
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noun
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a person, thing, etc, holding a position or place
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law a person who has possession of something, esp an estate, house, etc; tenant
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law a person who acquires by occupancy the title to something previously without an owner
Other Word Forms
- nonoccupant noun
- preoccupant noun
Etymology
Origin of occupant
1590–1600; < Middle French occupant, present participle of occuper. See occupy, -ant
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.
The application External link shows Zoox is looking for release from certain requirements ranging from occupant crash protection to windshield wiping and defrosting.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
We meet them before we meet Sally and Theo, and whether they are figments or not, they are unmistakably haunting the new occupant who’s writing about them.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026
He may live there for now, but his days as the current occupant are numbered.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025
The Tesla pushes forward impatiently, while its occupant wonders whether to take control.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2025
And as the occupant of Earl Warren’s desk, she was determined to fight discrimination wherever she found it.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
