occur
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
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to happen; take place; come about
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to be found or be present; exist
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(foll by to) to be realized or thought of (by); suggest itself (to)
Usage
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
Synonym Usage
See happen.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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occursimple
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occurssimple
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have occurredperfect
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has occurredperfect
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am occurringprogressive
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are occurringprogressive
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is occurringprogressive
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have been occurringperfect progressive
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has been occurringperfect progressive
Past
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occurredsimple
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had occurredperfect
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was occurringprogressive
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were occurringprogressive
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had been occurringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of occur
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin occurrere “to run to meet, arrive, meet,” equivalent to oc- oc- + currere “to run”
Explanation
Use the verb occur when an event or a thought happens, like when it occurs to you that you've left home without your umbrella. Maybe you didn't hear the forecast that showers would occur this afternoon. The verb occur comes from the Latin, occurrere, “to meet” or “to present itself.” When something occurs, it comes into being, like a thought that seems to present itself from out of the blue, like when it suddenly occurs to you that you forgot to ask your guests if they'd like a cup of tea, or that it would never occur to your Mother that some people spend a small fortune on handbags. Events can also occur, meaning "take place," like a meeting that will occur tomorrow.
Vocabulary lists containing occur
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Make a Run for It: Cur, Curs
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 4
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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.
Tickets to the singer’s forthcoming Renaissance tour were auctioned off Saturday at her mother and stepfather’s Wearable Art Gala marking the fifth anniversary of the couple’s Where Art Can Occur Theater Center in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2022
They think—such miracles as these Occur not every day.
From Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine by Heine, Heinrich
Occur the middle of July, and the second week in August, and are under the charge of the Saratoga Racing Association.
From Saratoga and How to See It by Dearborn, R. F.
Occur exclusively in Palaeozoic strata from Devonian upwards.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
Such a Chance Would Not Soon Occur Again: so it said on the card in the window, and so Didymus himself would have believed, hearing Kern Garland's abandoned eulogies....
From V. V.'s Eyes by Harrison, Henry Sydnor
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.
