From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishoccupyoc‧cu‧py /ˈɒkjəpaɪ $ ˈɑːk-/ ●●○ W2 AWL verb (occupied, occupying, occupies) [transitive] 1 stay in a placeLIVE SOMEWHERE to live or stay in a place He occupies the house without paying any rent. The building was purchased and occupied by its new owners last year.2 fill time if something occupies you or your time, you are busy doing it Football occupies most of my leisure time.occupy somebody with (doing) something Only six percent of police time is occupied with criminal incidents.3 fill space to fill a particular amount of space SYN take up Family photos occupied almost the entire wall.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that something takes up time or space rather than occupies it:Work takes up most of her time.That bed takes up almost the whole room.4 control by forcePMENTER to enter a place in a large group and keep control of it, especially by military force → invade an occupying army Students occupied Sofia University on Monday.5 → occupy somebody’s mind/thoughts/attention6 use to use something such as a room, seat, or bed Many patients who are occupying hospital beds could be transferred to other places.7 official positionBOPGO to have an official position or job SYN hold Before becoming prime minister, he had already occupied several cabinet posts. → occupied→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
occupy• The loss of activity Work will have usually occupied a considerable part of an individual's life prior to retirement.• The cafe occupies a single dimly lit room.• Debates within the social sciences have occupied an intellectual space which has drawn upon both scientific models and the humanities.• Fishing occupies most of my spare time.• He, Kramer, occupied some uncertain position in the middle.• Agonists are substances which are so similar to a specific neurotransmitter they can occupy that neurotransmitter's receptor perfectly.• Movie stars occupy the large suites on the third floor.occupy somebody with (doing) something• One-plant cultures of a single species developed vegetatively, occupying shallow brooks with a stony ground covered with sand, are typical.• Consequently many cathedral organists find themselves occupied increasingly with diocesan work.• Small households that don't use much water but occupy homes with high rateable values could be much better off.• Most hobbies cost some money, some a great deal, why not occupy time with machine knitting?• The rest of the day, she occupied herself with manufacturing chores to do.• Temporary relief from worry and anxiety can be achieved by totally occupying the mind with something else.• Over the next few weeks, Father Maier was occupied more with the political than with the priestly.• For the next four years he occupied himself primarily with writings in which he leveled attacks against enemies of the faith.From Longman Business Dictionaryoccupyoc‧cu‧py /ˈɒkjəpaɪˈɑːk-/ verb (past tense and past participle occupied)1[transitive] to use a particular building to live or work ina large computer company that occupies a building of some 60,000 sq ft —occupier noun [countable]a tax payable by the occupier of the property2[transitive] to have an official position or jobHe occupies an important position in government.3[intransitive, transitive] if something is occupying you, you are busy doing itAs PA to the chief executive, there is plenty to keep you occupied.Mr Ball is occupied with a customer at the moment.4[transitive] to use a particular amount of space or timeComputer files occupy much less storage space than paper ones.Running the business occupies nearly all of her time.→ See Verb tableOrigin occupy (1300-1400) French occuper, from Latin occupare 