occur

verb

oc·​cur ə-ˈkər How to pronounce occur (audio)
occurred; occurring ə-ˈkər-iŋ How to pronounce occur (audio)
-ˈkə-riŋ

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

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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.
Recent Examples on the Web Authorities said the two-car crash occurred near the Hoover Street ramp on the westbound 10 in the University Park area. Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 According to the Earth Sky Organization, Earth Day consistently occurs on April 22 and has done so since the inaugural Earth Day event in 1970. Kayla Jackson, The Arizona Republic, 17 Mar. 2024 Based on initial information from the Sheriff’s Department, an earlier version of this story said the fatal crash occurred in Solana Beach. Lauren J. Mapp, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024 The most notorious case occurred in Perm, where a 64-year-old woman detonated a powerful firecracker, investigators said. Tanya Stukalova, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2024 Hormone changes that occur when breastfeeding and during perimenopause Obesity Overactive or underactive thyroid PCOS Stress Sudden weight loss Too much physical activity Very low body fat 4. Anthea Levi, Health, 16 Mar. 2024 That this event will occur in a public garden rather than an art institution is no coincidence: Quinn has long sought to break out of the white cube to reach a wider audience. Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 16 Mar. 2024 Officials had not released the name of either man as of Friday morning and were also searching for a woman who appeared to have stabbed the 36-year-old man before the shooting occurred. Hurubie Meko, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Pilot Robert Sachs, who owned the plane that crashed, was also killed in the incident, which occurred shortly after the aircraft took off, as local authorities in the Caribbean said at the time. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'occur.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of occur was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near occur

Cite this Entry

“Occur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occur. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

occur

verb
oc·​cur ə-ˈkər How to pronounce occur (audio)
occurred; occurring -ˈkər-iŋ How to pronounce occur (audio)
1
: to be found or met with : appear
plants that occur in meadows
2
: to come into existence : happen
an accident occurred on the way to school
success doesn't just occur, it is earned
3
: to come into the mind
it just occurred to me
Etymology

from Latin occurrere "to be found or met with, appear," literally, "to run up against," from oc-, ob- "in the way" and currere "to run" — related to current, incur

More from Merriam-Webster on occur

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