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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
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
There are several health risks that can occur from moldy showers like allergic reactions, respiratory illnesses, and other irritations.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2025
Although most blindness occurs with age, other forms of blindness occur during childhood, which can have a variety of causes.
—Heidi Cope, Health, 19 Apr. 2025
Recently, neurologists have set out to find the part of the brain where this change in perception occurs.
—Jorge Garay, Wired News, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for occur
Cite this Entry
“Occur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occur. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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