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definitions

occupy

[ok-yuh-pahy]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR occupy ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), oc·cu·pied, oc·cu·py·ing.

verb (used without object), oc·cu·pied, oc·cu·py·ing.

to take or hold possession.
(usually initial capital letter) to participate in a protest about a social or political issue.

adjective

(usually initial capital letter) of or relating to a protest about a social or political issue, as in Occupy movement; Occupy protest; Occupy candidate: the Occupy movement for social justice.

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RELATED WORDS

employed, engaged, settled, populated, engrossed, working, busy, full, taken, active, populous, unavailable, lived-in

Origin of occupy

1300–50; Middle English occupien < Middle French occuper < Latin occupāre to seize, take hold, take up, make one's own, equivalent to oc- oc- + -cup-, combining form of capere to take, seize + -āre infinitive suffix
Related formsoc·cu·pi·a·ble, adjectiveoc·cu·pi·er, nounmis·oc·cu·py, verb, mis·oc·cu·pied, mis·oc·cu·py·ing.o·ver·oc·cu·pied, adjectivere·oc·cu·py, verb (used with object), re·oc·cu·pied, re·oc·cu·py·ing.self-oc·cu·pied, adjectiveun·der·oc·cu·pied, adjectivewell-oc·cu·pied, adjective

Synonyms for occupy

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR occupy ON THESAURUS.COM
2. use, busy. 5. capture, seize.

Synonym study

1, 3–5. See have.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for occupied

Contemporary Examples of occupied

Historical Examples of occupied

  • Between them, his days and nights were occupied to crowding.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Another subject attracted her attention and occupied some share of her thoughts.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • As she spoke, Milza, who was occupied in the next apartment, sneezed aloud.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • Harbour improvements have occupied much of the attention of Government.

  • The Jews have crossed the river Jordan and have occupied Palestine.

    Ancient Man

    Hendrik Willem van Loon

British Dictionary definitions for occupied

occupy

verb -pies, -pying or -pied (tr)

to live or be established in (a house, flat, office, etc)
(often passive) to keep (a person) busy or engrossed; engage the attention of
(often passive) to take up (a certain amount of time or space)
to take and hold possession of, esp as a demonstrationstudents occupied the college buildings
to fill or hold (a position or rank)

Word Origin for occupy

C14: from Old French occuper, from Latin occupāre to seize hold of, from ob- (intensive) + capere to take
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for occupied
adj.

late 15c., past participle adjective from occupy (v.). Of countries overrun by others, from 1940, originally with reference to France.

occupy

v.

mid-14c., "to take possession of," also "to take up space or time, employ (someone)," irregularly borrowed from Old French occuper "occupy (a person or place), hold, seize" (13c.) or directly from Latin occupare "take over, seize, take into possession, possess, occupy," from ob "over" (see ob-) + intensive form of capere "to grasp, seize" (see capable). The final syllable of the English word is difficult to explain, but it is as old as the record; perhaps from a modification made in Anglo-French. During 16c.-17c. a common euphemism for "have sexual intercourse with" (sense attested from early 15c.), which caused it to fall from polite usage.

"A captaine? Gods light these villaines wil make the word as odious as the word occupy, which was an excellent good worde before it was il sorted." [Doll Tearsheet in "2 Henry IV"]

Related: Occupied; occupying.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper