occur
verbAU, UK /əˈkɜː/ · US /əˈkɝ/
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”).
1
To happen or take place.
- The liftoff will occur in exactly twelve seconds.
- And no use for anyone to tell Charles that this was because the Family was in mourning for Mr Granville Darracott […]: Charles might only have been second footman at Darracott Place for a couple of months when that disaster occurred, but no one could gammon him into thinking that my lord cared a spangle for his heir.1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
2
To present or offer itself.
- I will write if the opportunity occurs.
3
To come or be presented to the mind; to suggest itself.
- One little incident of my school days occurs to me as amusing.
- It occurred to him to tell me of the problem.
1 more example
- Apparently it never occurs to them that you can't make rapid, drastic changes in the technology and the economy of a society without causing rapid changes in all other aspects of the society as well, […]1995, Theodore Kaczynski, Industrial Society and Its Future:
4
Sciences To be present or found.
- The chemical monofluoroacetate occurs in all parts of Dichapetalum cymosum, and is responsible for its toxic effects.
- Synonyms
- belimp, betide, betime, come to pass, happen, take place, appear, arise, come up
- Derived terms
- coöccur, co-occur, occurable, occurrable, reoccur, what's occurring
- Related terms
- occurrent, occurrence