What does "occur" mean?

1. (to happen) to happen or take place, especially when you are describing a specific event. 2. (to be found) to exist or be found in a particular place or situation. 3. (to come to mind) you use this when an idea or a thought suddenly enters your mind.

How do you use "occur"?

Intransitive; does not take a direct object. Often used with the preposition 'in'. Usually takes the preposition 'to' followed by the person.

Is it correct to say "An idea occurred me."?

No — say "An idea occurred to me.". The verb 'occur' requires the preposition 'to' when mentioning the person who had the thought.

occur

US //əˈkɝ// UK //əkˈɜː// oc·cur

1 to happen (v.)
B1 Intermediate Academic

to happen or take place, especially when you are describing a specific event.

to take place or happen. This sense is intransitive and often used in formal or academic reporting of events.

Example

The police are trying to find out exactly when the accident occurred.

Example

The most significant seismic shifts occurred during the late evening, catching the monitoring team off guard despite their sophisticated equipment.

Usage

Intransitive; does not take a direct object.
- happen
- take place
- transpire
2 to be found (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Academic Technical Science

to exist or be found in a particular place or situation.

to be present or found within a specific context, location, or dataset.

Example

These rare birds only occur in the deep parts of the rainforest.

Example

The chemical compound occurs naturally in the bark of several tropical trees, though its concentration varies significantly by season.

Usage

Often used with the preposition 'in'.

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3 to come to mind (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

you use this when an idea or a thought suddenly enters your mind.

to come into the mind or suggest itself to a person. Typically used in the construction 'it occurred to [someone] that'.

Example

It suddenly occurred to me that I had left my keys in the car.

Example

It had never occurred to the management that the staff might prefer flexible working hours over a traditional salary increase.

Usage

Usually takes the preposition 'to' followed by the person.
- dawn on
- strike
Pitfall

An idea occurred me.

An idea occurred to me.

The verb 'occur' requires the preposition 'to' when mentioning the person who had the thought.

Origin

Originally "meet (in argument)", borrowed from Middle French occurrer, from Latin occurrō (“run to meet, run against, befall, present itself”) from prefix ob- (“against”) + verb currō (“run, hurry, move”).