occupy

verb oc·cu·py \ ˈä-kyə-ˌpī \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Examples: occupy in a Sentence

Definition of occupy

occupied; occupying

transitive verb

1 : to engage the attention or energies of

They occupied themselves with video games.

2 a : to take up (a place or extent in space)

this chair is occupied

the fireplace will occupy this corner of the room

b : to take or fill (an extent in time)

the hobby occupies all of my free time

3 a : to take or hold possession or control of

enemy troops occupied the ridge

b : to fill or perform the functions of (an office or position)

will occupy the newly created office of chancellor
—Current Biography

4 : to reside in as an owner or tenant

occupies an apartment on a two-year lease

—

occupier

play \ˈä-kyə-ˌpī(-ə)r\ noun

See occupy defined for English-language learners

See occupy defined for kids

Examples of occupy in a Sentence

They have occupied the apartment for three years.
She occupies the house that her grandfather built 50 years ago.
They own another house that they occupy only three months out of the year.
They occupy the room next to ours.
This region was once almost completely occupied by forests.
Their house occupies a beautiful spot next to the ocean.
Much of our time is occupied by answering questions from our customers.
These questions have continued to occupy her mind.

Recent Examples of occupy from the Web

Its name is stripped from the building and overturned furniture occupies the patio where customers once dined outdoors.

— david lyons, Sun-Sentinel.com, "TGI Fridays in Fort Lauderdale closes after four decades," 11 July 2018
Justice Kennedy, who was often considered the swing vote, occupies a far more liberal position in the system than Kavanaugh does.

— saurabh datar, BostonGlobe.com, "How Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation could affect Roe v. Wade," 11 July 2018
And though it might be seen as nepotism (Schwartzman is Coppola’s cousin), Schwartzman occupies the part with a sad clown grace that eventually leads to quiet resolve.

— refinery29.com, "Why Marie Antoinette Is Really Mean Girls, Versailles Edition," 10 July 2018
Originally built as a family home and photography studio, this 1,600-square-foot residence occupies the infill plot sitting under a 19th-century viaduct with still-active trains running above it.

— alex bazeley, Curbed, "Sculptural steel home built into a 19th-century railway bridge wants $1.4M," 9 July 2018
Measured in military expenses per inhabitant, Denmark occupies a 5th place.

— Washington Post, "Danish PM: Trump has “unilateral focus” on defense spending," 4 July 2018
With the police department gone, the North Shore Fire Department occupies only 9,000 square feet of a 17,700-square-foot building.

— jeff rumage, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Renovating Shorewood's firehouse would cost $500K more than constructing a new building," 3 July 2018
Mexico City occupies a former lake, drained by the Spanish during the colonial period.

— lizzie wade, Science | AAAS, "Can this environmental engineer—now elected mayor—fix Mexico City?," 2 July 2018
Southwest Key’s Casa Blanca shelter occupies a mansion on 21 acres in San Antonio’s Timberwood Park subdivision.

— mark collette, joshua fechter and bill lambrecht, San Antonio Express-News, "Companies earn billions to shelter immigrant children," 29 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of occupy

Middle English occupien to take possession of, occupy, from Anglo-French occupier, occuper, from Latin occupare, from ob- toward + -cupare (akin to capere to seize) — more at ob-, heave

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year