as in to happen
to take place
let me know when the lunar eclipse is scheduled to occur
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Recent Examples of occur
The crash occurred when a school bus carrying two students crossed the tracks and was struck by a train, pushing the bus nearly a quarter mile down the line.
—
Brian New, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Water temperature problems can also occur if the water heater dip tube is damaged or broken.
—Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 28 Jan. 2026
The collision, which has a 4 percent chance of occurring on December 22, 2032, would release energy comparable to a nuclear explosion.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
The 1986 disaster occurred on the STS-51L mission, the 25th flight in NASA’s shuttle program, which was approaching its fifth anniversary.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for occur
Brian New, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Water temperature problems can also occur if the water heater dip tube is damaged or broken.
—Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 28 Jan. 2026
The collision, which has a 4 percent chance of occurring on December 22, 2032, would release energy comparable to a nuclear explosion.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
The 1986 disaster occurred on the STS-51L mission, the 25th flight in NASA’s shuttle program, which was approaching its fifth anniversary.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for occur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for occur
happen
Verb
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What’s happening in Minneapolis isn’t a policy debate playing out on cable news.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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As often happens during a crisis, the best of intentions can lead to some bad ideas.—
Matthew Kandrach,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Occur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/occur. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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