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Synonyms

on occasion

Idioms  

  1. From time to time, now and then, as in Nell has been known to eat meat on occasion. This usage, first in the form of upon occasion, replaced by occasion about 1600.

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.

Many of us who covered Trump’s first administration heard him on occasion screaming at someone in the Oval Office.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

As we talk, on occasion the screeching call of a toucan pierces the quiet, and miles above, the same giant black birds hover menacingly in groups, surveying everything below.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

Your correspondent has written about it on occasion.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

Like Cunningham-South and Chessum, their second-row pairing of Charles Ollivon and Mickael Guillard have the athleticism and explosiveness to play in the back row on occasion.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

He then could not refrain from revealing how one of Cambridge’s great men had on occasion also forgotten his chemistry.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

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.