occasional

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adjective oc·ca·sion·al \ ə-ˈkāzh-nəl , -ˈkā-zhə-nᵊl \

Definition of occasional

1 a :of or relating to a particular occasion

a budget able to meet occasional demands as well as regular ones

b :created for a particular occasion

occasional verse

occasional music

2 :acting as the occasion or contributing cause of something

occasional causes for creating apparent effects

3 :encountered, occurring, appearing, or taken at irregular or infrequent intervals

occasional visitors

an occasional vacation

found occasional errors

occasional episodes of chest pain

4 :acting in a specified capacity from time to time

an occasional lecturer

an occasional essayist

5 :designed or constructed to be used as the occasion demands

occasional furniture

See occasional defined for English-language learners

See occasional defined for kids

Examples of occasional in a Sentence

She receives occasional phone calls from her mother.
There will be occasional showers during the morning.
Most mornings, we'll see deer or the occasional bear walking past our house.
He tells an occasional joke to keep his students interested.
I need to take occasional breaks from work.
Sure, I drink an occasional glass of wine from time to time.
She's an occasional lecturer at the university.

Recent Examples of occasional from the Web

Steve Zimmerman is a copy editor/designer for the Chicago Tribune who writes an occasional column for the Daily Southtown.

— steve zimmerman, Daily Southtown, "Orland-area students getting an education in how to help," 30 Aug. 2017
Come back on a Friday or Saturday night, and the big open room will be packed with people listening to folk, bluegrass, acoustic music or the occasional classic rock band.

— polly campbell, Cincinnati.com, "Peace, Love and Hippie Hash in Warren County," 30 Aug. 2017
The group would help fund or beautify the roads, then spackle them with name markers and the occasional monument.

— erin blakemore, The Atlantic, "How the Confederacy Is Etched Into American Roads," 29 Aug. 2017
Rooms have elegant literary touches that don't try too hard—pencil cups and desk accessories made of pages from those writers' novels, the occasional quote painted on the wall in inky black.

— Condé Nast Traveler, "The Renwick," 25 Aug. 2017
Young Joey was an occasional part of the act from age five.

— gary susman, HWD, "Jerry Lewis, Comedic Force of Nature, Dies at 91," 20 Aug. 2017
Along with balancing her sports schedule, including occasional overlaps in seasons, Betancourt also excelled in the classroom with a 4.0 grade-point average from sixth grade through 12th.

— glae thien, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Carlsbad grad settles on soccer," 18 Aug. 2017
For its part, India objects to China’s occasional use of its diplomatic clout, bolstered by a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, to block its ambitions.

— The Economist, "One Lifebelt, One RoadChina makes Pakistan an offer it cannot refuse," 22 July 2017
Yes, there are occasional remarks by Republican Sens.

— james goldgeier, Washington Post, "Republicans used to compare talking to Moscow to talking to Hitler. Trump’s startling new tweet shows that’s changed.," 17 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'occasional.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.