From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishoccuroc‧cur /əˈkɜː $ əˈkɜːr/ ●●● S3 W1 AWL verb (occurred, occurring) [intransitive] formal 1 HAPPENto happen A third of accidental deaths occur in the home. The explosion occurred at 5.30 a.m.► see thesaurus at happenRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say happen rather than occur:The accident happened while she was at school.2 [always + adverb/preposition]EXIST to happen or exist in a particular place or situationoccur in/among etc Whooping cough occurs mainly in young children. The highest rates of unemployment occur in the inner urban areas. → occur to somebody→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
occur• Giraldes claims he was with his wife when the killings occurred.• The accident occurred about 11: 40 p. m. Friday.• He decided then that he wouldn't let that situation occur again.• In young children, construction occurs almost exclusively when they perform actions on objects.• Chromium and nickel occur commonly in areas which are also rich in magnesium.• The Japanese "f' sound does not occur in European languages.• When I was a small boy, quite serious fires seemed to occur in Salisbury with great frequency.• Substantially the reverse occurs in the adversely affected cigarette industry.• The disease occurs mainly in children, but can also occur in adults.• The court will have to decide exactly what occurred on the night Mellor died.• It would be unfortunate if something occurred to curtail our partnership.• It occurred to him now that Blackbeard had got on his tracks in the fog.• Major earthquakes like this occur very rarely.occur in/among etc• The embezzlement allegedly occurred in 1988 and 1989 when Le Floch-Prigent ran the state-owned oil company, Elf-Aquitaine.• The killing, which occurred in 1988, was met with worldwide outrage and focused attention on environmental destruction of the Amazon.• These are now due to occur in 1991, having been postponed on several occasions over the past few years.• This kind of tremor also occurs in anxious patients.• This can only occur in participatory or self-managing democracy.• There is no reason to doubt that such mixtures of behaviour would not occur in social animals.• Given the current recognition system, it is most unlikely that such examples will occur in this form.• Exchange and communication occur in this realm through a complex network of social relations.Origin occur (1500-1600) Latin occurrere, from currere “to run” 