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The Meaning of Occur and the Spelling of Its Forms
Occur has three meanings. It means "to be found or met with; appear," as in "a phenomenon that occurs around the world"; it means "to come into existence; happen," as in "an event that occurred on Friday"; and it means "to come to mind," as in "it occurs to me that the word is quite useful."
It's an unusual-looking word, being so small but with two c's up against each other, and then just a simple r at the end. The r is doubled, though, for the past tense: occurred. And the double r continues in the present participle: occurring.
Examples of occur in a Sentence
Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
The heated exchange occurred after Northern Ireland's McIlroy hit a poor shot on the 16th hole, which sent the ball straight into a bunker.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026
The conviction joins a running list of jail controversies for the Sheriff’s Office, mostly occurring under the previous administration under Laurie Smith and costing the county more than $20 million in legal settlements.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for occur
Cite this Entry
“Occur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occur. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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