occur

[ uh-kur ]

/ əˈkɜr /

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See synonyms for: occur / occurred / occurring / occurs on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), oc·curred, oc·cur·ring.

to happen; take place; come to pass: When did the accident occur?

to be met with or found; present itself; appear: Modest amounts of fructose occur naturally in fruits and vegetables.

to suggest itself in thought; come to mind (usually followed by to): An idea occurred to me.

OTHER WORDS FOR occur

1 befall.

2 arise, exist, offer, manifest itself, show itself.

See synonyms for occur on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of occur

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin occurrere “to run to meet, arrive, meet,” equivalent to oc- oc- + currere “to run”

synonym study for occur

1. See happen.

OTHER WORDS FROM occur

pre·oc·cur, verb (used without object), pre·oc·curred, pre·oc·cur·ring.re·oc·cur, verb (used without object), re·oc·curred, re·oc·cur·ring.un·oc·cur·ring, adjective

Words nearby occur

occupation layer, occupied, Occupied Territories, occupier, occupy, occur, occurred, occurrence, occurrent, occur to one, occy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use occur in a sentence

When upsets do happen at tennis’s biggest tournaments, they’re much more likely to occur later in the year.
The Australian Open Isn’t All That Friendly To Underdogs|Jonathon Braden|February 12, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
There are other keywords that somehow never occur to us, even though they may be of interest to consumers.
A comprehensive guide on using Google Trends for keyword research|Aayush Gupta|February 12, 2021|Search Engine Watch
Should a recall election occur, though, the thing to watch will be whether Democrats and independents become more supportive of it.
California’s Gavin Newsom Will Likely Face A Recall Election — But He’ll Probably Survive It|Geoffrey Skelley (geoffrey.skelley@abc.com)|February 10, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
After that, measures of transmission, such as the fraction of Covid-19 tests that yield positive results, could be used as an indicator of how much spread is still occurring.
Covid-19 vaccines are great — but you still need to wear a mask for now|Umair Irfan|February 9, 2021|Vox

Real change occurs when we take the time to educate that disability is not the problem.
Ford’s next pandemic mission: Clear N95 masks and low-cost air filters|Hannah Denham|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
Eating disorders, on the other hand, are driven largely by biological processes that occur on the inside.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But one extra trick would instantly solve the problem of crashes that occur over water.
Red Tape and Black Boxes: Why We Keep ‘Losing’ Airliners in 2014|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They maintain that the initial radicalization tends to occur offline before it is then reinforced online.
ISIS Has a Message. Do We?|Jamie Dettmer|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We, on the other hand, on the police side, will naturally gear up to deal with any potential contingency that might occur.
After No Indictment for Eric Garner Killer, Is NYC the Next Ferguson?|Jacob Siegel|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Diagnosis of CTE is often considered to be specialized and has to occur at a designated institution like Boston University.
Will the NCAA Let Ohio State’s Kosta Karageorge Die in Vain?|Robert Silverman|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes in the case of large plants, cones have been known to occur on the tips of the branches of the Marsh Horsetail.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
The upper part of the stem is usually unbranched, but whorls of branches occur towards the base.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
They generally occur together, but the pigment is not infrequently present alone.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
With this I will end this letter, leaving it in this state until it is time to seal it, in case anything should occur to be added.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
And if that was the case, Mrs. Robin didn't mean to let anything of the kind occur again.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for occur

occur

/ (əˈkɜː) /

verb -curs, -curring or -curred (intr)

to happen; take place; come about

to be found or be present; exist

(foll by to) to be realized or thought of (by); suggest itself (to)

Word Origin for occur

C16: from Latin occurrere to run up to, from ob- to + currere to run

usage for occur

It is usually regarded as incorrect to talk of pre-arranged events occurring or happening : the wedding took place (not occurred or happened) in the afternoon

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

occur

OTHER WORDS FOR occur

Origin of occur

synonym study for occur

OTHER WORDS FROM occur

Words nearby occur

Words related to occur

How to use occur in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for occur

Word Origin for occur

usage for occur