English Reference

Word

occurred

Phoneticsoc·curred

US/əˈkɝd/

UK/əkˈɜːd/

Definitions

01happened

B1

v. happened or took place, especially by chance or at a specific time.

v. took place or happened; often used to describe events, accidents, or natural phenomena.

“The power cut occurred during the storm last night.”

“The most significant breakthroughs in the research occurred during the final months of the three-year study.”

Usage

This verb is intransitive and does not take a direct object.

Pitfall

The accident was occurred at midnight.

The accident occurred at midnight.

The verb 'occur' is intransitive and cannot be used in the passive voice with 'be'.

02came to mind

B2

v. came into your mind as a thought or an idea.

v. entered one's mind or came into one's thoughts; typically used with the preposition 'to'.

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

“It only occurred to the manager much later that the discrepancy in the accounts might have been a deliberate error.”

Usage

Usually follows the pattern 'it occurred to [someone] that...'.

Synonyms

03existed in a place

C1 · Science

v. was found or existed in a particular place or situation.

v. existed or was found to be present within a specific environment or context.

“These rare plants occurred only in the high mountains.”

“The researchers noted that the mineral occurred naturally in the soil samples collected from the volcanic region.”

Academic

Usage

Commonly used in scientific or technical reports to describe the presence of a substance or species.

Synonyms

This entry

Level
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Updated

Scan code

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