unoccupied

[uhn-ok-yuh-pahyd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unoccupied ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

without occupants; empty; vacant.

not held or controlled by invading forces: unoccupied nations.

not busy or active; idle; not gainfully employed: an unoccupied person.

without inhabitants; deserted.

Origin of unoccupied

1350–1400; Middle English; see un-¹, occupied

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

Examples from the Web for unoccupied

Contemporary Examples of unoccupied

At the time, the Special Forces were pushing into Afghan villages previously unoccupied by coalition forces.
Special Forces’ $77M ‘Hustler’ Hits Back
Kevin Maurer
December 8, 2014
Property worth £350m was unoccupied on The Bishops Avenue, an exclusive street in a north London enclave.
London’s Oligarch Ghost Town
Tom Sykes
June 16, 2014
My favorite chair for once unoccupied by child or Lego construction.
The Ridiculousness of Father's Day
P. J. O’Rourke
June 15, 2014
Among the rows of unoccupied desks, I could only count about seven people.
Inside the Purge at The Newark Star Ledger, The Paper That Makes Chris Christie Squirm
Olivia Nuzzi
April 4, 2014
When they became too large for us to arrest and disperse we began firing over the crowd or at unoccupied buildings nearby.
Former Syrian Soldier Describes Life in the Army at the Start of War
Andrew Slater
September 4, 2013

Historical Examples of unoccupied

She led a blameless, unoccupied, and apparently purposeless life.
Roden's Corner
Henry Seton Merriman
She spied an unoccupied seat, looked at her watch, and sat down.
A Nest of Spies
Pierre Souvestre
There is not an unoccupied chair or corner of a table to be found.
The Macdermots of Ballycloran
Anthony Trollope
All that he had to do was to find an unoccupied table and settle down to work.
The Education of Eric Lane
Stephen McKenna
He swept it about the room, to make sure that it was unoccupied.
The Film of Fear
Arnold Fredericks

British Dictionary definitions for unoccupied

unoccupied

adjective

(of a building) without occupants

unemployed or idle

(of an area or country) not overrun by foreign troops

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 unoccupied

adj.

late 14c., "idle," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of occupy. In reference to ground, etc., attested from early 15c.