Dictionary

occupy en · VERB

Pronunciation

• ŏʹ-kyo͝o-pī (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɒkjʊpaɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɑkjəpaɪ/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle English occupien, occupyen, borrowed from Old French occuper, from Latin occupāre (“to take possession of, seize, occupy, take up, employ”), from ob (“to, on”) + capiō (“to take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize, grab”). Doublet of occupate, now obsolete.

Meanings

1. (of time, transitive) To take or use. ▸ To fill.
   • I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
   • The film occupied three hours of my time.
2. (of time, transitive) To take or use. ▸ To possess or use the time or capacity of; to engage the service of.
   • I occupy myself with gardening for a few hours every day.
   • The film occupied me for three hours.
3. (of time, transitive) To take or use. ▸ To fill or hold (an official position or role).
   • I occupy the post of deputy cat catcher.
4. (of time, transitive) To take or use. ▸ To hold the attention of.
   • I occupied her friend while he made his proposal.
5. (transitive) To take or use space. ▸ To fill space.
   • The historic mansion occupied two city blocks.
6. (transitive) To take or use space. ▸ To live or reside in.
   • With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…] 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
   • The better apartments were already occupied. 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC:
7. (transitive) To take or use space. ▸ To have, or to have taken, possession or control of (a territory).
   • Germany occupied France for three years while France struggled to make payments that were a condition of surrender. 1991, Werner Spies, John William Gabriel, Max Ernst collages: the invention of the surrealist universe, page 333:
   • Spain occupied, but could not populate, and its failure to expand Florida led Britain to consider the peninsula a logical extension of its colonial holdings. 2006, John Michael Francis, Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History, page 496:
   • One of the rebel marksmen, who had taken up position on a boulder, was knocked off it by the recoil of his weapon every time he fired. Again the attack achieved nothing. Positions were occupied, but could not be held. 1983, Arthur Keppel-Jones, Rhodes and Rhodesia: The White Conquest of Zimbabwe, 1884-1902, page 462:
   • The Japanese can occupy but cannot hold, and what they can hold they cannot hold long, was the opinion of General Pai Chung-hsi, Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese Army, […] 1940, The China monthly review, volumes 94-95, page 370:
   • Rupert, with his usual untamable energy, was scouring the country — but at first in the wrong direction, that of Aylesbury, another keypoint in the outer ring of Oxford defences, which he occupied but could not hold. 1975, Esmé Cecil Wingfield-Stratford, King Charles and King Pym, 1637-1643, page 330:
8. (transitive) To take or use space. ▸ To place the theodolite or total station at (a point).
9. (obsolete, transitive) To have sexual intercourse with.
   • 1867, Robert Nares A Glossary OCCUPY, [sensu obsc.] To possess, or enjoy. These villains will make the word captain, as odious as the word occupy. 2 Hen. IV, ii, 4. Groyne, come of age, his state sold out of hand For 's whore; Groyne still doth occupy his land. B. Jons. Epigr., 117. Many, out of their own obscene apprehensions, refuse proper and fit words, as occupy, nature, and the like. Ibid., Discoveries, vol. vii, p. 119. It is so used also in Rowley's New Wonder, Anc. Dr., v, 278.
   • God's light, these villains will make the word as odious as the word 'occupy;' which was an excellent good word before it was ill sorted 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
10. (obsolete) To do business in; to busy oneself with.
    • not able to occupy their old crafts 1551, Ralph Robinson (tr.), Sir Thomas More's Utopia (in Latin), 1516
    • All the ships of the sea, with their mariners, were in thee to occupy the merchandise. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 27:9:
11. (obsolete) To use; to expend; to make use of.
    • all the gold that was occupied for the work 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 38:24:
    • They occupy not money themselves. 1551, Ralph Robinson (tr.), Sir Thomas More's Utopia (in Latin), 1516

Forms

Deriveds

preoccupy · reoccupy · deoccupy · occupier · nonoccupying · occupy oneself · multioccupy · misoccupy · occupiable · cooccupy

Relateds

occupant · occupation

Synonyms

coitize (to have sexual intercourse with) · busy (to possess or use the time or capacity of) · exercise (to possess or use the time or capacity of) · go to bed with · employ (to possess or use the time or capacity of) · sleep with

Translations (148)

bg заемам (to fill (space)) · mi whakakapi (hold a position) · pt ocupar (have (taken) control of) · uk зайня́ти (time or space) · be заня́ць (have (taken) control of) · ru заня́ть (reside in) · it occupare (reside in) · cmn 花費 /花费 (time or space) · pt ocupar (time or space) · cmn 佔 /占 (time or space) · mi whakakapi (to fill (space)) · pt ocupar (hold a position) · uk займа́ти (to use the time or capacity of) · hy զբաղեցնել (to use the time or capacity of) · ang weardian (hold a position) · ja 占める (hold a position) · zza zebt kerden (have (taken) control of) · bg завладявам (hold attention of) · de in Anspruch nehmen (time or space) · uk зайня́ти (to fill (space)) · ja 占める (have (taken) control of) · bg заемам (hold a position) · ang weardian (reside in) · bg окупи́рам (have (taken) control of) · nrf otchuper (have (taken) control of) · hy զբաղեցնել (to fill (time)) · nrf otchuper (reside in) · ru занима́ть (to use the time or capacity of) · cmn 據有 /据有 (hold a position) · ru занима́ть (hold attention of) · hy զբաղեցնել (to fill (space)) · ru заня́ть (to fill (time)) · sv bebo (reside in) · fr occuper (time or space) · sv bo i (reside in) · no besette (have (taken) control of) · uk забира́ти (time or space) · fr occuper (to fill (space)) · ht okipe (hold a position) · it occupare (time or space) · la teneo (hold attention of) · ht okipe (time or space) · fr occuper (hold a position) · mi nohowheta (have (taken) control of) · es ocupar (have (taken) control of) · ar اِحْتَلَّ (have (taken) control of) · be акупава́ць (have (taken) control of) · az işğal etmək (have (taken) control of) · ca ocupar (hold a position) · uk зайня́ти (hold a position) · ru занима́ть (hold a position) · es ocupar (reside in) · ru занима́ть (to fill (space)) · sv ockupera (have (taken) control of) · eo okupi (have (taken) control of) · de belegen (time or space) · pt ocupar (hold attention of) · pt ocupar (to fill (time)) · sv uppta (time or space) · hu elfoglal (have (taken) control of) · fi vallata (have (taken) control of) · ru оккупи́ровать (have (taken) control of) · fr occuper (have (taken) control of) · cs obsadit (have (taken) control of) · ca ocupar (have (taken) control of) · fr occuper (to use the time or capacity of) · uk окупува́ти (have (taken) control of) · nrf otchuper (hold attention of) · nrf otchuper (hold a position) · de besetzen (hold a position) · la possideo (hold a position) · pl okupować (have (taken) control of) · fr occuper (to fill (time)) · mi wheta (reside in) · be займа́ць (have (taken) control of) · cs obsadit (time or space) · ru занима́ть (reside in) · hy զբաղեցնել (reside in) · th ยึดครอง (have (taken) control of) · nl bezetten (have (taken) control of) · uk зайня́ти (to use the time or capacity of) · uk займа́ти (to fill (space)) · sv besätta (have (taken) control of) · de besetzen (have (taken) control of) · fi olla alueella (jollakin) (to fill (space)) · ru заня́ть (hold attention of) · ru занима́ть (have (taken) control of) · fi asuttaa (reside in) · tyz bống (to fill (space)) · hy զբաղեցնել (hold attention of) · uk зайня́ти (hold attention of) · ru заня́ть (to fill (space)) · fi vangita huomio (hold attention of) · bg заемам (to fill (time)) · ru занима́ть (time or space) · uk забра́ти (time or space) · de bewohnen (reside in) · es ocupar (hold a position) · uk займа́ти (have (taken) control of) · it occupare (to fill (space)) · uk зайня́ти (have (taken) control of) · cmn 居住 (reside in) · mi wheta (to fill (space)) · mi whakatāuteute (to fill (time)) · it occupare (to fill (time)) · he הִתְנַחֵל (have (taken) control of) · fi varata (time or space) · de okkupieren (have (taken) control of) · es ocupar (time or space) · ca ocupar (reside in) · hy զբաղեցնել (hold a position) · da besætte (have (taken) control of) · fi miehittää (have (taken) control of) · uk зайня́ти (to fill (time)) · te ఆక్రమించు (have (taken) control of) · uk займа́ти (hold attention of) · uk зайня́ти (reside in) · hy զբաղեցնել (time or space) · ru заня́ть (hold a position) · la teneo (hold a position) · fi viedä (to fill (time)) · sv inneha (hold a position) · pt ocupar (reside in) · ota طوتمق (to fill (space)) · is hernema (have (taken) control of) · bg обитавам (reside in) · mi wheta (have (taken) control of) · pt ocupar (to fill (space)) · uk займа́ти (reside in) · ga áitigh (reside in) · ru завладева́ть (have (taken) control of) · ru занима́ть (to fill (time)) · hy գրավել (have (taken) control of) · ru заня́ть (to use the time or capacity of) · fr habiter (reside in) · fi pitää kiireisenä (to use the time or capacity of) · sv ta upp (time or space) · ang būan (reside in) · uk займа́ти (to fill (time)) · uk займа́ти (time or space) · ru заня́ть (have (taken) control of) · fi toimia (hold a position) · uk займа́ти (hold a position) · cmn 佔據 /占据 (have (taken) control of) · ru завладе́ть (have (taken) control of) · fr occuper (hold attention of) · fr occuper (reside in) · ru заня́ть (time or space)