occupy

verb

oc·​cu·​py ˈä-kyə-ˌpī 

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

ˈä-kyə-ˌpī(-ə)r 

noun

Synonyms

• absorb
• bemuse
• busy
• catch up
• engage
• engross
• enthrall
• enthral
• enwrap
• fascinate
• grip
• immerse
• interest
• intrigue
• involve

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 on the Web

Amad’s second goal of the game comes from one such situation, with Antony occupying Taylor Harwood-Bellis. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

That proposal would see Moscow de facto control parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia occupies but does not fully control. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025

So not long after Russian forces occupied the city during the full-scale invasion in 2022, she was summoned for questioning. —Howard Lafranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 29 Apr. 2025

Coogler is now thirty-eight and occupies a rarefied niche among contemporary filmmakers. —Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English occupien "to take possession of, hold, inhabit, take up space in, fill, keep (oneself) busy," borrowed from Anglo-French occuper, occupier, borrowed from Latin occupāre "to grasp, appropriate to oneself, take possession of, fill up (space, a position), forestall," from oc-, assimilated variant of ob- ob- + -cupāre, intensive derivative of capere "to take, seize, catch" — more at heave entry 1

Note: The source of the -i- in Anglo-French occupier and Middle English occupien, retained in Modern English, is unclear, as continental French has only occuper. The verb occupy, common in later Middle and early Modern English, was very infrequently used in the 17th and first two thirds of the 18th century; it has been suggested that this was due to the sense "to have sexual intercourse with (a woman)," which impinged by connotation on the less charged meanings and led to a taboo on any use of the word. When the socially unacceptable sense fell out of circulation occupy once more became a generally used word.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for occupy

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify

Kids Definition

occupy

verb

oc·​cu·​py ˈäk-yə-ˌpī 

occupied; occupying

1

a

: to take up the attention or energies of

reading occupied me most of the summer

b

: to fill up (space or time)

sports occupied most of their spare time

a liter of water occupies 1000 cubic centimeters of space

2

a

: to take or hold possession of

enemy troops occupied the town

b

: to live in as owner or tenant

occupy an apartment

occupier

-ˌpī(-ə)r 

noun