# occurred

/əˈkɝd/ (US) · /əkˈɜːd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/occurred
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. happened

verb · CEFR B1

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

For teachers: 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.

### 2. came to mind

verb · CEFR B2

came into your mind as a thought or an idea.

For teachers: 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...'.

### 3. existed in a place

verb · CEFR C1 · Academic

was found or existed in a particular place or situation.

For teachers: 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.

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

## Examples

- The accident occurred late last night.
- The most significant changes in the company's history occurred during the transition to digital manufacturing.
- It never occurred to the researchers that the anomaly might be a result of equipment failure rather than a genuine scientific discovery.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.