Library / English Dictionary

OCCUR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: occurred    , occurring   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Come to pass

Example:

Nothing occurred that seemed important

Synonyms:

come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "occur"):

contemporise; contemporize; synchronise; synchronize (happen at the same time)

turn out (prove to be in the result or end)

fall; shine; strike (touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly)

break (happen or take place)

chance (be the case by chance)

backfire; backlash; recoil (come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect)

coincide; concur (happen simultaneously)

bechance; befall; betide (become of; happen to)

bechance; befall; happen (happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by chance)

happen; materialise; materialize (come into being; become reality)

come around; roll around (happen regularly)

come off; go off; go over (happen in a particular manner)

break; develop; recrudesce (happen)

arise; come up (result or issue)

result (come about or follow as a consequence)

intervene (occur between other event or between certain points of time)

transpire (come about, happen, or occur)

give (occur)

supervene (take place as an additional or unexpected development)

go; proceed (follow a certain course)

come (come to pass; arrive, as in due course)

fall (occur at a specified time or place)

anticipate (be a forerunner of or occur earlier than)

develop (be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest)

recur; repeat (happen or occur again)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
It ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come to one's mind; suggest itself

Example:

A great idea then came to her

Synonyms:

come; occur

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "occur" is one way to...):

become (come into existence)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

To be found to exist

Example:

precious stones occur in a large area in Brazil

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "occur" is one way to...):

appear; come along (come into being or existence, or appear on the scene)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "occur"):

geminate; pair (occur in pairs)

run (occur persistently)

collocate (have a strong tendency to occur side by side)

abound in; pullulate with; teem in (exist in large quantity)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

Gastrointestinal symptoms and trouble with the spine or bones in the feet and thighs may also occur.

(MEN2B, NCI Dictionary)

It suddenly occurred to her: “Who knows? They are perhaps not coming at all, and have turned in somewhere.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Nothing further to alarm perhaps may occur the first night.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Suddenly this morning it occurred to me that you were the man to advise me, so I have hurried to you now, and I place myself unreservedly in your hands.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The tumor spread occurs via the hematogenous route or by direct extension from an adjacent anatomic site.

(Metastatic Malignant Neoplasm to the Adult Brain, NCI Thesaurus)

It occurs in children and adults.

(Metanephric Adenofibroma, NCI Thesaurus)

It typically occurs in adults, often women and it has a wide range of histopathological appearances.

(Meningioma, NCI Thesaurus/Adapted from WHO)

It usually occurs naturally, most often after age 45.

(Menopause, Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health)

The delay of arrival at Varna made us individually satisfied that things would not be just as we had expected; we only waited to learn where the change would occur.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The discharge occurs approximately once a month.

(Menstrual Blood, NCI Thesaurus)