occupy
verb/ˈɒkjupaɪ/
/ˈɑːkjupaɪ/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they occupy | /ˈɒkjupaɪ/ /ˈɑːkjupaɪ/ |
| he / she / it occupies | /ˈɒkjupaɪz/ /ˈɑːkjupaɪz/ |
| past simple occupied | /ˈɒkjupaɪd/ /ˈɑːkjupaɪd/ |
| past participle occupied | /ˈɒkjupaɪd/ /ˈɑːkjupaɪd/ |
| -ing form occupying | /ˈɒkjupaɪɪŋ/ /ˈɑːkjupaɪɪŋ/ |
- occupy something to fill or use a space, an area or an amount of time synonym take up
- The bed seemed to occupy most of the room.
- As the company grew, it continued to occupy more space.
- Administrative work occupies half of my time.
- How do you occupy your time?
- Their time is fully occupied with their rigorous training regime.
- occupy something (formal) to live or work in a room, house or building
- He occupies an office on the 12th floor.
- occupy something to enter a place in a large group and take control of it, especially by military force
- The capital has been occupied by the rebel army.
- Protesting students occupied the TV station.
- to fill your time or keep you busy doing something
- occupy somebody/something/yourself a game that will occupy the kids for hours
- Problems at work continued to occupy his mind for some time.
- occupy somebody/something/yourself with somebody/something She occupied herself with routine office tasks.
- occupy somebody/something/yourself (in) doing something She occupied herself doing routine office tasks.
- occupy something to have an official job or position synonym hold
- The president occupies the position for four years.
- jobs that have traditionally been occupied by men
Word OriginMiddle English: formed irregularly from Old French occuper, from Latin occupare ‘seize’. A now obsolete vulgar sense ‘have sexual relations with’ seems to have led to the general avoidance of the word in the 17th and most of the 18th cent.
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