occupation

American  

[ok-yuh-pey-shuhn] / ˌɒk yəˈpeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. a person's usual or principal work or business, especially as a means of earning a living; vocation.

   Her occupation was dentistry.

   Synonyms:

   métier, craft, pursuit, employment

2. any activity in which a person is engaged.

3. possession, settlement, or use of land or property.

   Synonyms:

   occupancy

4. the act of occupying, possessing, or settling.

5. the state of being occupied, taken over, or settled.

6. the state of being busy.

   His constant occupation with his writing has cut severely into his social life.

7. the seizure and control of an area by military forces, especially foreign territory.

8. the term of control of a territory by foreign military forces.

   Danish resistance during the German occupation.

9. tenure or the holding of an office or official function.

   during his occupation of the vice presidency.

10. the act of going into and taking control of a public or private space, as a park or building, especially as an act of protest.

    The students' week-long occupation of the dean's office brought about a change in the university's curfew policy.

11. the state or condition of living or working in a given place.

    The landlord will not allow occupation of any of his apartments by families with children or pets.

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occupation British  

/ ˌɒkjʊˈpeɪʃən /

noun

1. a person's regular work or profession; job or principal activity

2. any activity on which time is spent by a person

3. the act of occupying or the state of being occupied

4. the control of a country by a foreign military power

5. the period of time that a nation, place, or position is occupied

6. (modifier) for the use of the occupier of a particular property

   occupation road

   occupation bridge

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Related Words

Occupation, business, profession, trade refer to the activity to which one regularly devotes oneself, especially one's regular work, or means of getting a living. Occupation is the general word: a pleasant or congenial occupation. Business especially suggests a commercial or mercantile occupation: the printing business. Profession implies an occupation requiring special knowledge and training in some field of science or learning: the profession of teaching. Trade suggests an occupation involving manual training and skill: one of the building trades.

Other Word Forms

• nonoccupation noun
• occupationless adjective
• occupative adjective
• reoccupation noun
• self-occupation noun

Etymology

Origin of occupation

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English occupacioun, from Middle French occupation, from Latin occupātiōn-, stem of occupātiō “employment, seizure,” from occupāt(us) “seized” (past participle of occupāre “to seize, take hold”; occupy ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

"The site is a rare example of a late villa occupation remaining in use until the mid-5th Century, 50 years after the accepted termination of imperial Roman Britain," explains the former University of Northampton lecturer.

From BBC

“Life under occupation was also very hard,” she said, adding that there were often issues with water and electricity in occupied Mariupol.

From The Wall Street Journal

Despite its ubiquity in our machines and in the news, artificial intelligence remains both a mystery and a source of deep anxiety across occupations and generations.

From Los Angeles Times

The conflict dates back more than a century, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia.

From BBC

Even if businesses want to hire, the pickings are slimmer, especially in low-skill occupations at hotels and restaurants.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• attack
• conquest
• invasion