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occur

verb
oc·​cur | \ É™-ˈkÉ™r How to pronounce occur (audio) \
occurred; occurring\ É™-​ˈkÉ™r-​iÅ‹ How to pronounce occurring (audio) , -​ˈkÉ™-​riÅ‹ \

Definition of occur

intransitive verb

1 : to be found or met with : appear This bird occurs in New England in the spring.
2 : to come into existence : happen The accident occurred at 5 p.m.
3 : to come to mind an idea that has occurred to me
Synonyms The Meaning of Occur and the Spelling of Its Forms More Example Sentences Learn More about occur

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The Meaning of Occur and the Spelling of Its Forms

Occur has three meanings. It means "to be found or met with; appear," as in "a phenomenon that occurs around the world"; it means "to come into existence; happen," as in "an event that occurred on Friday"; and it means "to come to mind," as in "it occurs to me that the word is quite useful."

It's an unusual-looking word, being so small but with two c's up against each other, and then just a simple r at the end. The r is doubled, though, for the past tense: occurred. And the double r continues in the present participle: occurring.

Examples of occur in a Sentence

The event is scheduled to occur at noon tomorrow. No one was ready for what was about to occur. There's a chance that a similar event will occur in the future. The disease tends to occur in children under the age of five. The plant occurs naturally throughout South America.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Jagged streaks of lightning ripping across the sky are common to summer storms all over the world—that’s the season when the most strikes occur. — Alex Fox, Science | AAAS, "The world’s strongest lightning hits—not in summer—but from November to February," 9 Sep. 2019 Penalties can reach $10,000 per county where violations occur if more than 500 incomplete forms are submitted. — Washington Post, "Judge: New voter signup penalties create ‘chilling effect’," 9 Sep. 2019 In those moments when the atypical occurred for a period of a quarter or longer, a recession followed. — Lucinda Shen, Fortune, "Are We Near a Recession? The Godfather of the Inverted Yield Curve Says It’s ‘Code Red’," 9 Sep. 2019 That statement was issued on Sept. 2, but did not say when the alleged offense occurred. — NBC News, "N.Y. woman being held in Russia after medical marijuana arrest," 9 Sep. 2019 But the mayor’s proposed budget doesn’t include the commitment for a fall festival like previous budgets did years ago when BayFest occurred on the downtown streets during the first weekend of October. — al, "‘Iconic music festival belongs in Mobile’: Optimism surfaces after TenSixtyFive cancellation," 7 Sep. 2019 That's when a full moon occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. — Selena Barrientos, House Beautiful, "A Rare Harvest Moon Is Happening on Friday the 13th, and We’re Spooked," 6 Sep. 2019 The victim was hiking with another person during a thunderstorm when the accident occurred. — Carlos Lozano, Los Angeles Times, "Climber is killed in fall from Half Dome cables in Yosemite National Park," 6 Sep. 2019 Radiocarbon analysis allows them to date when the fires occurred. — Kate Evans, National Geographic, "Ancient farmers burned the Amazon, but today's fires are very different," 5 Sep. 2019

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

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First Known Use of occur

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for occur

borrowed from Latin occurrere "to run to meet, confront in a hostile manner, be met, present itself (to the mind)," from oc-, assimilated variant of ob- ob- + currere "to run, roll, move swiftly" — more at current entry 1

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More Definitions for occur

occur

verb
How to pronounce occur (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of occur

somewhat formal : to happen
formal : to appear or exist : to be found

See the full definition for occur in the English Language Learners Dictionary

occur

verb
oc·​cur | \ É™-ˈkÉ™r How to pronounce occur (audio) \
occurred; occurring

Kids Definition of occur

1 : to come by or as if by chance : happen Success doesn't just occur, it is earned.
2 : to come into the mind It never occurred to me to ask.
3 : to be found or met with : appear It's a disease that occurs among cows.

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More from Merriam-Webster on occur

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with occur

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for occur

Spanish Central: Translation of occur

Nglish: Translation of occur for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of occur for Arabic Speakers

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