occupy
gb/ˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/ us/ˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/
A2
Anglais
~ 2100
Sens
0 sens
Verbe
B1
action
1
Control or live in a place
To be in and use a place or space.
Schéma d’usage :
to occupy [a building/place/space]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse 'occupy' with 'own'. You can occupy a place without owning it.
Synonymes
inhabit (Implies living in a place, often for a long time.)
|
take over (Often implies forceful or sudden control.)
Antonymes
vacate (Means to leave a place so it is empty.)
Collocations
occupy a building
|occupy a seat
|occupy territory
|occupy a room
|occupy land
Thèmes
daily life
|politics
|real estate
|law
|travel
Exemples
- Protesters occupied the city square for two weeks.
- The company occupies the top floor of the building.
- They occupied the house soon after buying it.
- The army occupied the region during the conflict.
Exemples pédagogiques
- We occupy a small apartment in the city.
- The students occupy the classroom every morning.
- Soldiers occupy the camp during training.
- Tourists occupy the hotel rooms in summer.
Verbe
B1
action
2
Keep someone busy
To give someone something to do so they are busy.
Schéma d’usage :
to occupy [someone] with [something]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may confuse 'occupy' here with 'employ'. 'Occupy' is about keeping busy, not giving a job.
Synonymes
engage (Focuses on holding someone's attention or interest.)
|
distract (Can mean keeping someone busy, sometimes away from other concerns.)
Antonymes
bore (Means to make someone feel uninterested and not engaged.)
Collocations
occupy children
|occupy someone's time
|occupy the mind
Thèmes
daily life
|education
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The teacher occupied the students with a group project.
- She occupied herself with reading during the flight.
- Puzzles can occupy your mind for hours.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I occupy my little brother with games.
- She occupies herself with homework after school.
- We occupy the children with drawing.
Verbe
B2
action
3
Hold a position or role
To have a job or role.
Schéma d’usage :
to occupy [a position/role]
Synonymes
hold (A common term for having a position or office.)
Antonymes
vacate (Means to leave a position or role.)
Collocations
occupy a post
|occupy a position
|occupy an office
Thèmes
business
|politics
|work
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- He occupies the role of chief engineer.
- She has occupied this position for five years.
- Several ministers occupied key posts in the government.
Exemples pédagogiques
- He occupies an important job at the bank.
- She occupies the role of manager.
- I occupy this position now.
Verbe
A2
action
4
Fill space or time
To be in a space or use time.
Schéma d’usage :
to occupy [space/time]
Synonymes
fill (General term for taking up space or time.)
Antonymes
free up (Means to make space or time available.)
Collocations
occupy space
|occupy room
|occupy time
Thèmes
daily life
|space
|time
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The sofa occupies most of the living room.
- Meetings occupy much of my day.
- The files occupy too much memory on the device.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The bed occupies half of my room.
- Work occupies most of my day.
- The box occupies this corner.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
occupy
API
GB/ˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/
US/ˈɑkjəpˌaɪ/
Syllabes et accentuation
oc - cupy (2 syllabes)
Stress on 1st syllable (oc)
Formes du mot
Verb
- Base: occupy
- 3rd Person Singular: occupies
- Present Participle: occupying
- Past: occupied
Famille de mots
Forms
occupies
verb
occupying
verb
occupied
verb
Core family
occupation
noun A2
Negative and opposite forms
unoccupied
adjective B2
Advanced or less common
occupational
adjective B2
preoccupied
adjective
Expressions
be occupied with
1/bˈi ˈɑkjəpˌaɪd wˈɪθ/
fixed phrase
Be busy with something
To be busy doing something or thinking about something.
Exemples
- She is occupied with preparing for her exams.
- He was occupied with phone calls all morning.
fully occupied
1/fˈʊli ˈɑkjəpˌaɪd/
fixed phrase
Completely busy or in use
Being very busy or having no space or time free.
Exemples
- I'm fully occupied with work this week.
- All hotel rooms are fully occupied during the festival.
occupied territory
1/ˈɑkjəpˌaɪd tˈɛɹɪtˌɔɹi/
fixed phrase
Land under foreign control
Land that is controlled by an army from another country.
Exemples
- The region has been an occupied territory since the war began.
- Aid is being sent to people living in occupied territories.