a person's usual or principal work or business, esp. as a means of earning a living; vocation: Her occupation was dentistry.
2.
any activity in which a person is engaged.
3.
possession, settlement, or use of land or property.
4.
the act of occupying.
5.
the state of being occupied.
6.
the seizure and control of an area by military forces, esp. foreign territory.
7.
the term of control of a territory by foreign military forces: Danish resistance during the German occupation.
8.
tenure or the holding of an office or official function: during his occupation of the vice presidency.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME occupacioun < MF occupation < L occupātiōn- (s. of occupātiō), equiv. to occupāt(us) (ptp. of occupāre; see occupy) + -iōn--ion]
—Related forms
oc·cu·pa·tion·less, adjective
oc·cu·pa·tive, adjective
—Synonyms 1. employment, pursuit, craft, métier. Occupation,business,profession,trade refer to the activity to which one regularly devotes oneself, esp. one's regular work, or means of getting a living. Occupation is the general word: a pleasant or congenial occupation. Business esp. suggests a commercial or mercantile occupation: the printing business. Profession implies an occupation requiring special knowledge and training in some field of science or learning: the profession of teaching. Trade suggests an occupation involving manual training and skill: one of the building trades. 3. occupancy.
An activity that serves as one's regular source of livelihood; a vocation.
An activity engaged in especially as a means of passing time; an avocation.
The act or process of holding or possessing a place.
The state of being held or possessed.
Invasion, conquest, and control of a nation or territory by foreign armed forces.
The military government exercising control over an occupied nation or territory.
The act or process of holding or possessing a place.
The state of being held or possessed.
Invasion, conquest, and control of a nation or territory by foreign armed forces.
The military government exercising control over an occupied nation or territory.
Invasion, conquest, and control of a nation or territory by foreign armed forces.
The military government exercising control over an occupied nation or territory.
[Middle English occupacioun, from Old French occupacion, from Latin occupātiō, occupātiōn-, from occupātus, past participle of occupāre, to occupy; see occupy.]
c.1340, "a being employed in something," also "a particular action," from O.Fr. occupacion (12c.), from L. occupationem (nom. occupatio) "a taking possession, business, employment," from occupatus, pp. of from occupare (see occupy). Meaning "trade" is from 1530.
Oc`cu*pa"tion\, n. [L. occupatio: cf.F. occupation.]1. The act or process of occupying or taking possession; actual possession and control; the state of being occupied; a holding or keeping; tenure; use; as, the occupation of lands by a tenant. 2. That which occupies or engages the time and attention; the principal business of one's life; vocation; employment; calling; trade. Absence of occupation is not rest. --Cowper. Occupation bridge (Engin.), a bridge connecting the parts of an estate separated by a railroad, a canal, or an ordinary road. Syn: Occupancy; possession; tenure; use; employment; avocation; engagement; vocation; calling; office; trade; profession.
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