occur
English meaning: Occur
Definition
To happen or take place.
Example
“The liftoff will occur in exactly twelve seconds.”
Another example: “It suddenly occurred to her that she had left the oven on.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A neutral-to-formal verb meaning to happen or take place, used especially for events that are not deliberately caused. Often used in scientific and formal writing ('symptoms occur', 'errors occur'). Also 'occur to someone' means to come to mind.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Latin 'occurrere' (to run to meet, present itself), from 'ob-' (towards) plus 'currere' (to run); entered English in the 16th century.
Related Words
Common Collocations
- occur naturally
- occur frequently
- commonly occur
- may occur
- occur to me
- rarely occur
Word Forms
occur (v); occurred; occurs; occurring; occurrence (n)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B