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Meaning of occupy in English
Pronunciation
/ˈɑkjəˌpaɪ/
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Verb
occupy
Etymology
Middle English: formed irregularly from Old French occuper, from Latin occupare‘seize’. A now obsolete vulgar sense ‘have sexual relations with’ seems to have led to the general avoidance of the word in the 17th and most of the 18th century
Definitions
1.
be present in
Examples
« be inside of »
2.
keep busy with
Examples
« She busies herself with her butterfly collection »
3.
live (in a certain place)
4.
occupy the whole of
Examples
« The liquid fills the container »
5.
be on the mind of
Examples
« I worry about the second Germanic consonant »
6.
as of time or space
Examples
« It took three hours to get to work this morning »
« This event occupied a very short time »
7.
march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation
Examples
« Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 »
8.
engage or engross wholly
Examples
« Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely »