Word
occur
Phoneticsoc·cur, stress on the second syllable
US/əˈkɝ/
UK/əkˈɜː/
Definitions
01to happen
B1 · Intermediate Academic
v. to happen or take place, especially when you are describing a specific event.
v. to take place or happen. This sense is intransitive and often used in formal or academic reporting of events.
日本語:起こる※
Español:ocurrir
“The police are trying to find out exactly when the accident occurred.”
“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.
Synonyms
02to be found
B2 · Upper Intermediate Science Academic · Technical
v. to exist or be found in a particular place or situation.
v. to be present or found within a specific context, location, or dataset.
“These rare birds only occur in the deep parts of the rainforest.”
“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'.
03to come to mind
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. you use this when an idea or a thought suddenly enters your mind.
v. to come into the mind or suggest itself to a person. Typically used in the construction 'it occurred to [someone] that'.
“It suddenly occurred to me that I had left my keys in the car.”
“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.
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.
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “occur” in context.
Verb
01. occur in
“These specific minerals occur in large quantities in the local soil.”
verb + prep
02. occur to
“It didn't occur to me that I would need to bring my own laptop.”
verb + prep
Adjective
03. commonly occur
“Errors commonly occur when data is entered manually.”
adv + verb
04. frequently occur
“These side effects frequently occur in patients over the age of sixty.”
adv + verb
05. naturally occur
“The gas is naturally occurring and can be found deep underground.”
adv + verb
Noun
06. frequency of occurrence
“Scientists are monitoring the frequency of occurrence of these storms.”
noun + prep + noun
07. occur at regular intervals
“The pulses occur at regular intervals of exactly three seconds.”
08. seldom occur in practice
“While the theory is sound, such situations seldom occur in practice.”
09. suddenly occur to someone
“It suddenly occurred to her that she had left the oven on.”
Etymology
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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B1 · IntermediateOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/occur
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0