Occurrence - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

oc·cur·rence

Audio Help [uh-kur-uh

ns, uh-kuhr-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the action, fact, or instance of occurring.

2.	something that happens; event; incident: We were delayed by several unexpected occurrences.

[Origin: 1530–40; occurr(ent) + -ence; cf. ML occurrentia

]

—Related forms

oc·cur·rent, adjective

—Synonyms 2. circumstance. See event.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Occurrence

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

oc·cur·rence Audio Help (ə-kûr'əns) Pronunciation Key
n.

The action, fact, or instance of occurring.
Something that takes place.

oc·cur'rent adj.

Synonyms: These nouns refer to something that takes place or comes to pass. Occurrence and happening are the most general: an everyday occurrence; a happening of no great importance.
Event usually signifies a notable occurrence: major world events reported on the evening news. "Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves" (Victoria).
Incident may apply to a minor occurrence: a small incident blown out of proportion.
The term may also refer to a distinct event of sharp identity and significance: a succession of exciting incidents.
An episode is an incident in the course of a progression or within a larger sequence: "Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain" (Thomas Hardy).
Circumstance denotes a particular incident or occurrence: "Billy had found Alice, thus bringing about the odd circumstance of their renewing their acquaintanceship" (Eleanor H. Porter).

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

occurrence
noun
1.	an event that happens [syn: happening]
2.	an instance of something occurring; "a disease of frequent occurrence"; "the occurrence (or presence) of life on other planets"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ocˈcurrence [-ˈka-, (American) -ˈkə:-] noun

Example: a strange occurrence

Arabic:	حادِثَه، حُدوث
Chinese (Simplified):	发生
Chinese (Traditional):	發生
Czech:	událost
Danish:	hændelse
Dutch:	voorval
Estonian:	juhtum
Finnish:	sattuma
French:	événement
German:	das Ereignis
Greek:	συμβάν, περιστατικό
Hungarian:	esemény
Icelandic:	viðburður
Indonesian:	kejadian
Italian:	avvenimento

Japanese:	でき事
Korean:	발생, 사건
Latvian:	gadījums; notikums
Lithuanian:	atsitikimas, įvykis, reiškinys
Norwegian:	hendelse; forekomst
Polish:	wydarzenie
Portuguese (Brazil):	ocorrência, acontecimento
Portuguese (Portugal):	ocorrência
Romanian:	eveniment
Russian:	случай
Slovak:	udalosť
Slovenian:	dogodek
Spanish:	suceso
Swedish:	händelse, tilldragelse
Turkish:	olay, hadise

See also: occur

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Occurrence

E*vent"\, n. [L. eventus, fr. evenire to happen, come out; e out + venire to come. See Come.]

1. That which comes, arrives, or happens; that which falls out; any incident, good or bad. "The events of his early years." --Macaulay.

To watch quietly the course of events. --Jowett (Thucyd. )

There is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked. --Eccl. ix. 2.

2. An affair in hand; business; enterprise. [Obs.] "Leave we him to his events." --Shak.

3. The consequence of anything; the issue; conclusion; result; that in which an action, operation, or series of operations, terminates.

Dark doubts between the promise and event. --Young.

Syn: Incident; occurrence; adventure; issue; result; termination; consequence; conclusion.

Usage: Event, Occurrence, Incident, Circumstance. An event denotes that which arises from a preceding state of things. Hence we speak or watching the event; of tracing the progress of events. An occurrence has no reference to any antecedents, but simply marks that which meets us in our progress through life, as if by chance, or in the course of divine providence. The things which thus meet us, if important, are usually connected with antecedents; and hence event is the leading term. In the "Declaration of Independence" it is said, "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary." etc. Here, occurrences would be out of place. An incident is that which falls into a state of things to which is does not primarily belong; as, the incidents of a journey. The term is usually applied to things of secondary importance. A circumstance is one of the things surrounding us in our path of life. These may differ greatly in importance; but they are always outsiders, which operate upon us from without, exerting greater or less influence according to their intrinsic importance. A person giving an account of a campaign might dwell on the leading events which it produced; might mention some of its striking occurrences; might allude to some remarkable incidents which attended it; and might give the details of the favorable or adverse circumstances which marked its progress.

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