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occur

[ uh-kur ]
/ əˈkɜr /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR occur 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.
to suggest itself in thought; come to mind (usually followed by to): An idea occurred to me.

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RELATED WORDS

materialize, develop, appear, show, transpire, ensue, exist, result, arise, go, follow, strike, reveal, hit, befall, eventuate, manifest, action, chance, smoke

Nearby words

  1. occupational therapy,
  2. occupied,
  3. occupied territories,
  4. occupier,
  5. occupy,
  6. occur to one,
  7. occurrence,
  8. occurrent,
  9. occy,
  10. ocd

Origin of occur

1520–30; < Latin occurrere to run to meet, arrive, meet, equivalent to oc- oc- + currere to run
SYNONYMS FOR occur
1 befall. See happen.
2 arise, offer.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR occur ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formspre·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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for occurred

British Dictionary definitions for occurred

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

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

Word Origin and History for occurred

occur

v.

1520s, "meet, meet in argument," from Middle French occurrer "happen unexpectedly" or directly from Latin occurrere "run to meet, run against, befall, present itself," from ob "against, toward" (see ob-) + currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). Sense development is from "meet" to "present itself" to "appear" to "happen" ("present itself in the course of events"). Meaning "to come into one's mind" is from 1620s. Related: Occurred; occurring.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper