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occupied - 2 dictionary results

oc⋅cu⋅py

  [ok-yuh-pahy] verb, -pied, -py⋅ing.
Use occupied in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to take or fill up (space, time, etc.): I occupied my evenings reading novels.
2. to engage or employ the mind, energy, or attention of: Occupy the children with a game while I prepare dinner.
3. to be a resident or tenant of; dwell in: We occupied the same house for 20 years.
4. to take possession and control of (a place), as by military invasion.
5. to hold (a position, office, etc.).
–verb (used without object)
6. to take or hold possession.
Origin:
1300–50; ME occupien < MF occuper < L occupāre to seize, take hold, take up, make one's own, equiv. to oc- oc- + -cup-, comb. form of capere to take, seize + -āre inf. suffix

Related forms:
oc⋅cu⋅pi⋅a⋅ble, adjective
oc⋅cu⋅pi⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2, 4, 5. See have. 2. use, busy. 4. capture, seize.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To occupied
oc·cu·py   (ŏk'yə-pī')   
tr.v.   oc·cu·pied, oc·cu·py·ing, oc·cu·pies
  1. To fill up (time or space): a lecture that occupied three hours.
  2. To dwell or reside in.
  3. To hold or fill (an office or position).
  4. To seize possession of and maintain control over by or as if by conquest.
  5. To engage or employ the attention or concentration of: occupied the children with coloring books.

[Middle English occupien, alteration of Old French occuper, from Latin occupāre, to seize : ob-, intensive pref.; see ob- + capere, to take; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
oc'cu·pi'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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