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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing occupant
"Of Mice and Men"
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"Building Design and Construction Handbook," Vocabulary from Section 1
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"The Black Ferris" by Ray Bradbury
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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.
Occupant businesses are seizing the opportunity to become owners, especially in downtown Los Angeles, where glittering high-rises have plummeted in value since occupancy dropped during the pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
The issue is caused by a faulty circuit board in the vehicle’s Occupant Detection System.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 28, 2024
In February, the auto safety agency requested a meeting to discuss the field performance of the Atlas Passenger Occupant Protection System, VW said.
From Reuters • Apr. 4, 2023
"Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution" "The Occupant" "Curtiz" "YooHoo to the Rescue: Season 3"
From Salon • Mar. 1, 2020
It is a little four-page paper that is published "every now and then" and says anything it likes about the "Occupant."
From A Journal From Our Legation in Belgium by Gibson, Hugh
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.
