occur

verb

oc·​cur ə-ˈkər How to pronounce occur (audio)
occurred; occurring ə-ˈkər-iŋ How to pronounce occur (audio)
-ˈkə-riŋ

intransitive verb

1
: to be found or met with : appear
This bird occurs in New England in the spring.
2
: to come into existence : happen
The accident occurred at 5 p.m.
3
: to come to mind
an idea that has occurred to me

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The Meaning of Occur and the Spelling of Its Forms

Occur has three meanings. It means "to be found or met with; appear," as in "a phenomenon that occurs around the world"; it means "to come into existence; happen," as in "an event that occurred on Friday"; and it means "to come to mind," as in "it occurs to me that the word is quite useful."

It's an unusual-looking word, being so small but with two c's up against each other, and then just a simple r at the end. The r is doubled, though, for the past tense: occurred. And the double r continues in the present participle: occurring.

Examples of occur in a Sentence

The event is scheduled to occur at noon tomorrow. No one was ready for what was about to occur. There's a chance that a similar event will occur in the future. The disease tends to occur in children under the age of five. The plant occurs naturally throughout South America.
Recent Examples on the Web Pilot Robert Sachs, who owned the plane that crashed, was also killed in the incident, which occurred shortly after the aircraft took off, as local authorities in the Caribbean said at the time. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 Danielle Darrow, a local resident and a dog owner who regularly visits Hance Park Dog Park in downtown Phoenix, mentioned another incident that occurred at the park. Abigail Celaya, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024 The men were attempting a nearly 7,000-mile voyage from Guadeloupe to France when the mishap occurred, officials said. Mark Price, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 Importantly, the economy so far has dodged a recession, which many economists had predicted would occur as a result of the Federal Reserve's flurry of interest rate hikes, which typically cause businesses to pull back on spending, given the higher cost of borrowing. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2024 Now, the National Park Service (NPS) has announced its best guess: Officials think this year’s peak bloom will occur between March 23 and March 26. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024 Experts have predicted that solar maximum, the peak of solar magnetic field activity, will occur later this year. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024 According to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department, the abuse occurred approximately two years prior at Peck’s residence, and at the time, Peck was coaching the victim. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2024 The reality star, who shared two children with his ex Gutierrez, was driving an ATV near his home in Boone, North Carolina, when a horrific accident occurred. Shania Russell, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'occur.' 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

borrowed from Latin occurrere "to run to meet, confront in a hostile manner, be met, present itself (to the mind)," from oc-, assimilated variant of ob- ob- + currere "to run, roll, move swiftly" — more at current entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of occur was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near occur

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

occur

verb
oc·​cur ə-ˈkər How to pronounce occur (audio)
occurred; occurring -ˈkər-iŋ How to pronounce occur (audio)
1
: to be found or met with : appear
plants that occur in meadows
2
: to come into existence : happen
an accident occurred on the way to school
success doesn't just occur, it is earned
3
: to come into the mind
it just occurred to me
Etymology

from Latin occurrere "to be found or met with, appear," literally, "to run up against," from oc-, ob- "in the way" and currere "to run" — related to current, incur

More from Merriam-Webster on occur

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