occupy

[ok-yuh-pahy]

See more synonyms for occupy on Thesaurus.com

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

to take or fill up (space, time, etc.): I occupied my evenings reading novels.
to engage or employ the mind, energy, or attention of: Occupy the children with a game while I prepare dinner.
to be a resident or tenant of; dwell in: We occupied the same house for 20 years.

to hold (a position, office, etc.).
to take possession and control of (a place), as by military invasion.
(usually initial capital letter) to participate in a protest about (a social or political issue), as by taking possession or control of buildings or public places that are symbolic of the issue: Let’s Occupy our voting rights! The Occupy Wall Street movement of late 2011 was a protest against economic inequality.

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.

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

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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

Related Words for occupied

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

Examples from the Web for occupied

Contemporary Examples of occupied

Guilt, when dispensed in the circumstances Morris occupied, is the anti-Viagra.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’
Asawin Suebsaeng
January 7, 2015
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
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
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
The area has long been peaceful, missing out on the turmoil common to the Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
A New Intifada? Israel’s Arab Citizen Uprising Spreads
Creede Newton
November 10, 2014

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.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
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

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.