occupied

[ ok-yuh-pahyd ]

/ ˈɒk yəˌpaɪd /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for occupied on Thesaurus.com

adjective

lived in: Now that he is no longer a member of the legislature, he and his family must move out of the occupied premises within 30 days.

(of space, time, etc.) taken or filled up: Have you ever walked into a public restroom and mistakenly opened an occupied stall?

taken possession of and controlled by a hostile military force: After Germany invaded in 1914, the Belgian Commission for Relief ensured that Belgians living in the occupied region did not starve.

employed or engaged, as one’s attention, energy, etc.; busy: He is often bored at home, not receiving much attention or affection from his occupied parents.

(of a position, office, etc.) held: The amount of the salary markup for working under extraordinary conditions depends on the occupied position.

Sometimes Occupied . (of a place) taken possession of and controlled by demonstrators who see it as symbolic of a social or political issue: People stopped outside the occupied library to show their support for those inside, who were protesting cuts to public services.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of occupy.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of occupied

occupy + -ed²

OTHER WORDS FROM occupied

o·ver·oc·cu·pied, adjectiveself-oc·cu·pied, adjectiveun·der·oc·cu·pied, adjectivewell-oc·cu·pied, adjective

Words nearby occupied

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, occupational therapy, occupation franchise, occupation groupings, occupation layer, occupied, Occupied Territories, occupier, occupy, occur, occurred

How to use occupied in a sentence

The conclave captures a dilemma that senior executives—and management authors—have faced more frequently while the first “CEO president” occupied the oval office.
Should management be political? That is the wrong question|Gianpiero Petriglieri|November 20, 2020|Quartz
NEVs currently occupy around 5% of China’s market, which still makes China the world’s No.
A six-year-old Chinese electric vehicle startup is now more valuable than GM|eamonbarrett|November 13, 2020|Fortune
Still, no one would have expected the best defensive team in England to occupy space on the goals-against table next to three teams that played in the second-tier league earlier this year.
Liverpool And Manchester City Look Ordinary. Are They?|Terrence Doyle|November 12, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Plotz said podcasting and on-demand audio now occupies just about every niche where radio once dominated — music, national talk news, sports — but not local news.
‘Go in small with clear-eyed expectations’: How a crop of startups are trying to make for-profit local news work|Steven Perlberg|November 11, 2020|Digiday

He wasn’t the first to say that the Earth occupies the center of the universe, but he was the most dogmatic about it, and believed he had established it to be incontrovertibly true — by using logic.
These are science’s Top 10 erroneous results|Tom Siegfried|November 10, 2020|Science News
Guilt, when dispensed in the circumstances Morris occupied, is the anti-Viagra.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Visitors today can keep watch over the scene in the booth at the end of the bar that Capone and his cronies once occupied.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The company moved into what was called Bertha Island, and soon become synonymous with the land it occupied.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Israeli military occupied the south of Lebanon from 1982 until 2000.
Israel Sends Warning to Assad, Russia and Iran With Damascus Airstrikes|Creede Newton|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Inside two women screamed in front of a bed that occupied the center of the room.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this position, the line of cavalry formed the chord of the arc described by the river, and occupied by us.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
At the hotel he found the bench outside occupied chiefly by Jean.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Infantry and cavalry approached the island, quite unsuspicious of its being occupied.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
But dwelling means a special kind of structure—a building occupied by man—a place to live in.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Scouts reported that Porter still occupied his camp, and showed no sign of moving.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn