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View synonyms for occupy

occupy

[ ok-yuh-pahy ]

verb (used with object)

, oc·cu·pied, oc·cu·py·ing.
  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.

    Synonyms: busy, use

  3. to be a resident or tenant of; dwell in:

    We occupied the same house for 20 years.

  4. to hold (a position, office, etc.).
  5. to take possession and control of (a place), as by military invasion.

    Synonyms: seize, capture

  6. Usually Occupy. to participate in a protest about (a social or political issue), as by taking possession or control of buildings or public places that are symbolic of the issue:

    Let’s Occupy our voting rights!

    The Occupy Wall Street movement of late 2011 was a protest against economic inequality.



verb (used without object)

, oc·cu·pied, oc·cu·py·ing.
  1. to take or hold possession.
  2. Usually Occupy. to participate in a protest about a social or political issue.

adjective

  1. Usually Occupy. of or relating to a protest about a social or political issue, as in Occupy movement, Occupy protest, and Occupy candidate:

    the Occupy movement for social justice.

occupy

/ ˈɒkjʊˌpaɪ /

verb

  1. to live or be established in (a house, flat, office, etc)
  2. often passive to keep (a person) busy or engrossed; engage the attention of
  3. often passive to take up (a certain amount of time or space)
  4. to take and hold possession of, esp as a demonstration

    students occupied the college buildings

  5. to fill or hold (a position or rank)


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Other Words From

  • oc·cu·pi·a·ble adjective
  • oc·cu·pi·er noun
  • mis·oc·cu·py verb misoccupied misoccupying
  • re·oc·cu·py verb (used with object) reoccupied reoccupying

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Word History and Origins

Origin of occupy1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English occupien, from Middle French occuper, from Latin occupāre “to seize, take hold, take up, make one's own,” equivalent to oc- oc- + -cup-, combining form of capere “to take, seize” + -āre infinitive suffix

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Word History and Origins

Origin of occupy1

C14: from Old French occuper, from Latin occupāre to seize hold of, from ob- (intensive) + capere to take

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Synonym Study

See have.

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Example Sentences

It occupies a singular place in American political discourse.

It occupies 140 acres of woodland and open pasture stretching across a hill that rises behind the museum.

Pristine Donnell Pond, which covers 1,138 acres and has 15 miles of shoreline, can easily occupy paddlers for the better part of day.

So I am vigilant and solitary, my guest room occupied by 30-pound boxes of nuts.

While most hosts will continue to work from home, producers for both stations now occupy the same office space near Nationals Park.

Satirists occupy a perilous position—to skewer dogma and cant, and to antagonize the establishment while needing its protection.

The opposition responded with a month-long Occupy Abay (like Occupy Wall St) campaign, in which Udaltsov was one of key figures.

That tweet came from Shay Horse, whose bio lists him as an independent photojournalist with ties to Occupy Wall Street.

But the questions occupy my mind until the ambulance arrives.

Personally, he says, he feels  "more than ready" to occupy one the country's leading positions.

With twelve hundred foes around us, we had plenty to occupy all our thoughts and attention.

Nothing will be easier then to throw the Poles into the shade of the picture, or to occupy the foreground with a brilliant review.

I didn't like to be done; the man urged me to occupy one place that was yet vacant; my evil genius prompted me to do so.

The situation may be altogether in favor of the employer or altogether in favor of the men, or may occupy a middle ground.

Thus four thousand Indians at most roam through, rather than occupy, these vast stretches of inland territory and sea-shore.

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