Etymology : Middle English occupien to take possession of, occupy, modification of Middle French occuper, from Latin occupare, from ob- toward + -cupare ; more at OB-, HEAVE
Pronunciation : ä-ky&-"pI
Function : transitive verb
Date : 14th century
1. seize, conquer; hold, control. inhabit, live in; fill, take up; engage, keep busy. occupy\oc"cu*py\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. occupied ; p. pr. & vb. n. occupying .] [oe. occupien, f. occuper, fr.l. occupare; ob (see:
ob-) + a word akin to capere to take. see:
capacious.].
2. to take or hold possession of; to hold or keep for use; to possess. woe occupieth the fine [/end] of our gladness. the better apartments were already occupied. irving.
3. to hold, or fill, the dimensions of; to take up the room or space of; to cover or fill; as, the camp occupies five acres of ground. herschel.
4. to possess or use the time or capacity of; to engage the service of; to employ; to busy. an archbishop may have cause to occupy more chaplains than six. statute (hen. viii. ) they occupied themselves about the sabbath. viii.
5. 4. to do business in; to busy one's self with. [obs.] all the ships of the sea, with their mariners, were in thee to occupy the merchandise. xxvii.
6. not able to occupy their old crafts.
7. to use; to expend; to make use of. [obs.] all the gold that was occupied for the work. xxxviii.
8. they occupy not money themselves.
9. to have sexual intercourse with. [obs.]occupy \oc"cu*py\, v. i.
10. to hold possession; to be an occupant. "occupy till i come.".
11. 2. to follow business; to traffic.occupy v.
12. be present in; be inside of [syn: inhabit].
13. keep busy with; "she busies herself with her butterfly collection" [syn: busy].
14. live (in a certain place) [syn: reside, lodge in].
15. occupy the whole of; "the liquid fills the container" [syn: fill].
16. be on the mind of; "what is worrying you?" [syn: concern, interest, worry].
17. as of time or space: "it took three hours to get to work this morning"; "this event occupied a very short time" [syn: take, use up].
18. march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation; "hitler invaded poland on september 1, 1939" [syn: invade].
19. engage or engross wholly; "her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely" [syn: absorb, engross, engage].
20. To take or hold possession of; to hold or keep for use; to possess.
21. To hold, or fill, the dimensions of; to take up the room or space of; to cover or fill; as, the camp occupies five acres of ground.
22. To possess or use the time or capacity of; to engage the service of; to employ; to busy.
23. To do business in; to busy one's self with.
24. To use; to expend; to make use of.
25. To have sexual intercourse with.
26. To hold possession; to be an occupant.
27. To follow business; to traffic. live occupy the whole of; "The liquid fills the container".
28. 1. The people who occupy a building or a place are the people who live or work there. There were over 40 tenants, all occupying one wing of the hospital Land is, in most instances, purchased by those who occupy it.
29. If a room or something such as a seat is occupied, someone is using it, so that it is not available for anyone else. The hospital bed is no longer occupied by his wife I saw three camp beds, two of which were occupied. ¡Ù vacant, free.
30. If a group of people or an army occupies a place or country, they move into it, using force in order to gain control of it. U.S. forces now occupy a part of the country the occupied territories.
31. If someone or something occupies a particular place in a system, process, or plan, they have that place. Men still occupy more positions of power than women. = hold.
32. If something occupies you, or if you occupy yourself, your time, or your mind with it, you are busy doing that thing or thinking about it. Her parliamentary career has occupied all of her time He hurried to take the suitcases and occupy himself with packing the car I would deserve to be pitied if I couldn't occupy myself. + occupied oc·cu·pied Keep the brain occupied I had forgotten all about it because I had been so occupied with other things.
33. If something occupies you, it requires your efforts, attention, or time. I had other matters to occupy me, during the day at least This challenge will occupy Europe for a generation or more.
34. If something occupies a particular area or place, it fills or covers it, or exists there. Even quite small aircraft occupy a lot of space Bookshelves occupied most of the living room walls. = take up.