occupant

American  

[ok-yuh-puhnt] / ˈɒk jə pənt /

noun

• occupants
  plural

1. 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.

2. a tenant of a house, estate, office, etc.; resident.

3. Law.

   1. an owner through occupancy.

   2. one who is in actual possession.

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occupant British  

/ ˈɒkjʊpənt /

noun

1. a person, thing, etc, holding a position or place

2. law a person who has possession of something, esp an estate, house, etc; tenant

3. law a person who acquires by occupancy the title to something previously without an owner

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonoccupant
  noun
• preoccupant
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• occupants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of occupant

1590–1600; < Middle French occupant, present participle of occuper. See occupy, -ant

Explanation

An occupant is someone who lives or stays at a place for awhile. A lot of your junk mail is addressed "To occupant" because the sender doesn't know who lives at your address. Being an occupant means you're occupying a place. This has nothing to do with owning a house or renting an apartment; if you live there, you're an occupant. There are other occupants too, as in politics. The President is often called "the current occupant of the White House," who replaced the former occupant. That kind of occupant has as much to do with politics as living space.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

occupant occupants

“It’s not a regular build; everything about it is not regular,” said future occupant Anthony Ruffin, a social worker celebrated for his work with mentally ill homeless people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

And many believe he will want a new chancellor to replace the current occupant of Number 11 Downing Street, Rachel Reeves.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

The aforementioned “wig room” has been outfitted with an enormous mirror and a built-in vanity perfect for trying on different styles—however a future occupant could easily use this space as a flex room or office.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

The unwanted aquatic occupant grows at an exponential rate and blooms can double in size in a day, Bidelspach said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

This used to be shared by Mr. Kugler and Mr. van Daan, but now Mr. Kugler is its only occupant.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

That combination raised additional concerns about the amount of particulate matter occupants could inhale.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

When the North Tower was struck and occupants of the South Tower were told to remain in place, Rescorla ordered his people to evacuate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The five occupants of the Passat - all male and aged between 17 and 23 - also died at the scene.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Ms. Frizzle often shrank her steel steed and its occupants to microscopic sizes so they could explore places they’d never seen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

Like billboards whose occupants wore gas masks and reminded passersby that poison gas from Hitler’s Nazi Germany was still a very real threat.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Related Words

• denizen
• dweller
• holder
• incumbent
• inhabitant
• renter
• resident
• tenant