occur

[uh-kur]

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.

Origin of occur

1520–30; < Latin occurrere to run to meet, arrive, meet, equivalent to oc- oc- + currere to run

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

Synonyms for occur

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR occur ON THESAURUS.COM

1. befall. See happen. 2. arise, offer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for occurred

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

Examples from the Web for occurred

Contemporary Examples of occurred

We can construct excuses based on the evil that occurred September 11th.
Dick Cheney vs. ‘Unbroken’
Mike Barnicle
December 15, 2014
The most violent offense committed by Wahlberg occurred on the night of April 8, 1988.
Mark Wahlberg’s Pardon Plea: A Look Back At His Troubling, Violent, and Racist Rap Sheet
Marlow Stern
December 7, 2014
As I talked with her, it occurred to me that my election was about much more than me.
During Advent, Lots of Waiting, But Not Enough Hope
Gene Robinson
December 7, 2014
It took me a few days but I eventually told him what had occurred.
How I Stopped My Rapist
Natasha Alexenko
November 24, 2014
Tellingly, but not coincidentally, the greatest expansion of Medicaid has occurred in Deep Blue America.
With Immigration Move, Obama and the Welfare Party Strike Again
Lloyd Green
November 24, 2014

Historical Examples of occurred

The voyage was more than half completed, and nothing of importance had occurred to mark it.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
It occurred to him that he could sell them at a market store in the village.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
As these occurred, a rustling and a murmur expressed the subdued applause.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
A sudden memory of words that Viviette had used the day before occurred to him.
Viviette
William J. Locke
The last of these, our guide said, had occurred about five moons before.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia
Thomas Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for occurred

occur

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

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.