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

• interest
• involve
• intrigue
• immerse
• busy
• fascinate
• attract
• engage

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

To add insult to injury, the newspaper’s staff of five now occupies half a floor in Enervate headquarters in downtown Toledo, a grand pre-war building that was once dedicated entirely to the paper. —Michael M. Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025

The coaches have asked Mahomes to look deep before throwing short, even if pre-snap alignments or pre-game film suggests the back end of the secondary will be occupied. —Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025

Fans had initially circled this Saturday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur for protests, but Cross says a march led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson is expected to occupy the police. —Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025

Addresses that shuttered last year are already occupied with new tenants, the turnkey transition opening new doors for diners. —Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 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