occupy

verb oc·cu·py \ ˈä-kyə-ˌpī \

|Updated on: 14 Aug 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

With the expansion, the company will occupy more than half of the 108,878-square-foot Webster building.

— katherine feser, Houston Chronicle, "Leidos expands Webster office to consolidate Houston operations," 12 July 2018
The adjacent concepts will occupy 7,677 square feet of space in the building's jewel box surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass.

— greg morago, Houston Chronicle, "Houston restaurateur to open two new concepts at Redemption Square at Generation Park," 12 July 2018
The store would occupy 12,500 square feet and the rest would be used for a drive-thru restaurant with an outdoor seating area, according to city documents.

— erin hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Naperville to consider annexing Route 59 church to make way for commerical development," 12 July 2018
The bike park would occupy seven acres of what is now an off-leash dog area.

— sven berg, idahostatesman, "Locals want input on Boise's bike park plan. The City Council could decide soon.," 10 July 2018
Hazard currently wears the number 10 shirt for club and country, but Luka Modric occupies that jersey at the Bernabeu.

— SI.com, "Real Madrid 'Saving' Number 7 Shirt for Eden Hazard After Expected Cristiano Ronaldo Exit," 9 July 2018
Ernest Alfred, a traditional Namgis chief, occupied a net pen at Swanson Island for nearly 280 days beginning in August, until removed by court order in May sought by Marine Harvest, which operates 12 fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Audit finds 70 percent of British Columbia fish-processing plants do not comply with environmental regulations," 8 July 2018
The nonprofit will occupy some 12,000 square feet in the home of the Cincinnati Museum Center.

— carol motsinger, Cincinnati.com, "With Holocaust center's move, Union Terminal will, once more, be a refuge for survivors," 6 July 2018
Soy doesn't occupy the same space in the consumer mindset as other iconic American agricultural products like corn, wheat, pork or beef.

— ben popken /, NBC News, "Soy farmers say they're getting hurt in Trump's trade war with China," 6 July 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

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year