occupy
Americanverb (used with object)
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occupies,
present (3rd person singular)
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occupied,
past participle, past
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occupying
present participle
-
to take or fill up (space, time, etc.).
I occupied my evenings reading novels.
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to engage or employ the mind, energy, or attention of.
Occupy the children with a game while I prepare dinner.
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to be a resident or tenant of; dwell in.
We occupied the same house for 20 years.
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to hold (a position, office, etc.).
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to take possession and control of (a place), as by military invasion.
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Usually Occupy 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)
-
occupies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
occupied,
past participle, past
-
occupying
present participle
-
to take or hold possession.
-
Usually Occupy to participate in a protest about a social or political issue.
adjective
verb
-
to live or be established in (a house, flat, office, etc)
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(often passive) to keep (a person) busy or engrossed; engage the attention of
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(often passive) to take up (a certain amount of time or space)
-
to take and hold possession of, esp as a demonstration
students occupied the college buildings
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to fill or hold (a position or rank)
Synonym Usage
See have.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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occupysimple
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occupiessimple
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have occupiedperfect
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has occupiedperfect
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am occupyingprogressive
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are occupyingprogressive
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is occupyingprogressive
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have been occupyingperfect progressive
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has been occupyingperfect progressive
Past
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occupiedsimple
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had occupiedperfect
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was occupyingprogressive
-
were occupyingprogressive
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had been occupyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of occupy
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English occupien, from Middle French occuper, from 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
Explanation
When you spend a lot of your free time reading tea leaves, you occupy yourself with that pastime, meaning it takes up your time and keeps you busy. An army can invade another country and occupy its territory, and this use of the word reflects its original Latin meaning, which was "to seize." There are also less aggressive forms of occupation, as with the family of chipmunks who occupy your garden. If you are the mayor of your town, you occupy an important office. And if you're a fan of Andy Warhol, a series of Campbell's soup can paintings may occupy a prominent place on your walls.
Vocabulary lists containing occupy
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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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.
See Examples For:
The folks in nearby Nodaway County have been in an uproar over a proposal to build a data center that would occupy 500 acres.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
In response, Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard, who now occupy facilities as a volunteer-only, long-term force.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Gary Patterson had just been elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach at TCU, a job he would occupy for the next two decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
However, the Ukraine international would occupy one of the club's four non-EU registration slots.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
He looks through me like the physical space I occupy is empty.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
At 90,000 square feet, the proposed complex would be larger than an average Kohl’s department store, which the company says occupies roughly 80,000 square feet.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Varda Space Industries, a microgravity-enabled life sciences company that processes materials in orbit and returns them to Earth, also occupies offices there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Iran sits on the northern side of the narrow waterway, while Omani territory occupies the top of the point of land jutting out of the southern shore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Einstein famously stated that "The second law of thermodynamics occupies a unique position among the laws of Nature," reflecting his view that it was one of the most secure and fundamental principles in physics.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
The huge head, its center marked by a heap of stones that may once have been an altar, occupies the highest point.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Their closest living populations are now nearly 2,500 km away in southern Mexico, indicating that the species once occupied a dramatically different geographic range.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Five different people have occupied No 10 since 2016 - three in the space of just over three years, and one for just 49 days.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Then, a few short breaths later, Sanders was running for, and winning, the Arkansas governor’s office once occupied by Bill Clinton.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Washington National Opera also left the venue, which it had occupied for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Soon, I came to an area occupied by white tents.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
He said previously the team would have to climb the trees at night to "try to visually identify a species occupying a bat roost", which was time consuming.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
By occupying this unusual position, the genus helps fill an important gap in the existing classification system.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
The SK affiliate managing the company headquarters accused Roh’s art center of illegally occupying the space in 2023, citing a lapsed rental contract.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and the former executive editor of the Hollywood Reporter, sees Tilly occupying an uncomfortable middle ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Eye stood up at the table he was occupying, far from the window.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
