occult

verb

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt 

ä-

occulted; occulting; occults

transitive verb

: to shut off from view or exposure : cover, eclipse

… the light of a star that was about to be occulted … by Uranus itself …

—Jonathan Eberhart

occulter noun

Synonyms of occult

• obscure
• conceal
• hide

Examples of occult in a Sentence

occulted their house from prying eyes by planting large trees around it

the actor's private life had long been occulted by a contrived public persona

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, the speedy planet is occulted (hidden) by the sun's disk, but of course, this event is unobservable. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 2 May 2026

When To See The ‘snow Moon’ Occult Regulus Just a day after the full wolf supermoon, the near-full moon will occult Regulus for about an hour, as seen from the eastern half of North America. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

April 25: The moon will occult Regulus again at approximately 8:30 P.M. (depending on your location), though this time it will be best viewed from sites east of the Mississippi, where the pair will be higher in the sky. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 8 Jan. 2026

From Korea alone, seven new projects spanning coming-of-age dramas to occult horror are seeking international co-production opportunities. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

in part back-formation from occultation, in part continuing Middle English occulten "to keep secret, conceal," borrowed from Latin occultāre "to prevent from being seen, conceal, keep secret," frequentative derivative of occulere "to hide from view, conceal" — more at occult entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing occult

• the occult

Rhymes for occult

• adult
• consult
• exult
• insult
• result
• catapult
• subadult
• cult

Kids Definition

occult

1 of 3 verb

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt 

ä-

: to shut off from view : cover, eclipse

occult

2 of 3 adjective

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt  ä- 

ˈäk-əlt

1

: beyond understanding : mysterious

2

: of or relating to supernatural forces

occult

3 of 3 noun

ə-ˈkəlt  ä- 

ˈäk-əlt

: matters thought to involve the influence of supernatural forces

Medical Definition

occult

adjective

oc·​cult ə-ˈkəlt  ˈäk-ˌəlt 

: not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone

occult carcinoma

also : not present in macroscopic amounts

occult blood in a stool specimen

fecal occult blood testing

compare gross sense 1b