occupy

verb

oc·​cu·​py ˈä-kyə-ˌpī How to pronounce occupy (audio)
occupied; occupying

transitive verb

1
: to engage the attention or energies of
They occupied themselves with video games.
2
a
: to take up (a place or extent in space)
this chair is occupied
the fireplace will occupy this corner of the room
b
: to take or fill (an extent in time)
the hobby occupies all of my free time
3
a
: to take or hold possession or control of
enemy troops occupied the ridge
b
: to fill or perform the functions of (an office or position)
will occupy the newly created office of chancellorCurrent Biography
4
: to reside in as an owner or tenant
occupies an apartment on a two-year lease
occupier noun

Examples of occupy in a Sentence

They have occupied the apartment for three years. She occupies the house that her grandfather built 50 years ago. They own another house that they occupy only three months out of the year. They occupy the room next to ours. This region was once almost completely occupied by forests. Their house occupies a beautiful spot next to the ocean. Much of our time is occupied by answering questions from our customers. These questions have continued to occupy her mind.
Recent Examples on the Web That tactic does not sit well with many Orange County residents, who say that the growing rock wall occupies too much of the shrinking beach and may contribute to the erosion problem. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2024 Located in fittingly fancy Mayfair, the new salon will cover 3,600 square feet of a multi-story townhouse formerly occupied by British designer Amanda Wakeley, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2024 The Ann Arbor store will occupy the site of a former OfficeMax, the Burton store is in a former Staples and the Westland store takes over a former Bed Bath & Beyond location. Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 5 Mar. 2024 Dan’s Irish Sports Bar, Walnut Creek This Irish watering hole is so popular, nearly every seat at the lengthy bar was already occupied by mid-afternoon on a recent Tuesday, and a crew of jolly old-timers was playing Liar’s Dice with the bartender. Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 Now, multiple courthouses in the area have now been taken over and occupied by gangs. Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 Gang gunmen also occupied and vandalized the nation’s top soccer stadium, taking one employee hostage for hours, Haiti’s soccer federation said in a statement. Evens Sanon and Pierre-Richard Luxama, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024 California voters will get their say on the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat long held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, now occupied by Sen. Laphonza Butler. Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024 This year's Senate race is a historic one, as a swath of popular candidates face off to fill the seat Dianne Feinstein occupied for more than 30 years. Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'occupy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English occupien "to take possession of, hold, inhabit, take up space in, fill, keep (oneself) busy," borrowed from Anglo-French occuper, occupier, borrowed from Latin occupāre "to grasp, appropriate to oneself, take possession of, fill up (space, a position), forestall," from oc-, assimilated variant of ob- ob- + -cupāre, intensive derivative of capere "to take, seize, catch" — more at heave entry 1

Note: The source of the -i- in Anglo-French occupier and Middle English occupien, retained in Modern English, is unclear, as continental French has only occuper. The verb occupy, common in later Middle and early Modern English, was very infrequently used in the 17th and first two thirds of the 18th century; it has been suggested that this was due to the sense "to have sexual intercourse with (a woman)," which impinged by connotation on the less charged meanings and led to a taboo on any use of the word. When the socially unacceptable sense fell out of circulation occupy once more became a generally used word.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of occupy was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near occupy

Cite this Entry

“Occupy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occupy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

occupy

verb
oc·​cu·​py ˈäk-yə-ˌpī How to pronounce occupy (audio)
occupied; occupying
1
a
: to take up the attention or energies of
reading occupied me most of the summer
b
: to fill up (space or time)
sports occupied most of their spare time
a liter of water occupies 1000 cubic centimeters of space
2
a
: to take or hold possession of
enemy troops occupied the town
b
: to live in as owner or tenant
occupy an apartment
occupier noun

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