Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To take place; come about. synonym: happen.
  • intransitive verb To be found to exist or appear.
  • intransitive verb To come to mind.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To run to, as for the purpose of assisting.
  • To run together; meet; clash.
  • To strike the senses; be found; be met with: as, silver often occurs native; the statement occurs repeatedly.
  • To emerge as an event into the actual world; happen; take place; come to pass; befall: as, what has occurred?
  • To strike the mind: with to.
  • Eccles., to coincide in time, so as to interfere each with the celebration of the other: as, two holy days occur.
  • To refer: with to.
  • Synonyms To come to pass, come about, fall out.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb obsolete To meet; to clash.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To go in order to meet; to make reply.
  • intransitive verb To meet one's eye; to be found or met with; to present itself; to appear.
  • intransitive verb To happen; to take place.
  • intransitive verb To come to the mind; to arise in the mind; to suggest itself; to be presented to the imagination or memory; -- of an idea or thought.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To happen or take place.
  • verb To present or offer itself.
  • verb To come or be presented to the mind; to suggest itself.
  • verb sciences To be present or found.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb come to one's mind; suggest itself
  • verb come to pass
  • verb to be found to exist

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin occurrere : ob-, toward; see ob– + currere, to run; see kers- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Originally "meet, meet in argument", from Middle French occurrer, from Latin occurrō ("run to meet, run against, befall, present itself") from prefix ob- ("against") + verb currō ("run, hurry, move").

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Examples

  • Richard’s first charter to the City (23 April, 1194) (166) granted a few weeks after his return from abroad makes no mention of a mayor, nor does the title occur in any royal charter affecting the City until the year

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  • Levantones occur is two vastly different ways, though.

    Page 2 2010

  • Levantones occur is two vastly different ways, though.

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  • Levantones occur is two vastly different ways, though.

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  • Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced.

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  • Levantones occur is two vastly different ways, though.

    Page 2 2010

  • Levantones occur is two vastly different ways, though.

    Page 2 2010

  • Levantones occur is two vastly different ways, though.

    Page 2 2010

  • Levantones occur is two vastly different ways, though.

    Page 2 2010

  • Toxic algae appear to be increasing worldwide as coastal pollution increases. 4 Many fish poisoning are likely to occur from the result of ingesting fish toxic with Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB).

    Fish poisonings and envenomations 2010

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