From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishoccupationoc‧cu‧pa‧tion /ˌɒkjəˈpeɪʃən $ ˌɑːk-/ ●●● S3 W3 AWL noun 1 [countable]BOJOB/WORK a job or profession Please state your name, address and occupation. professional and managerial occupations manual occupations► see thesaurus at job2 [uncountable]PMENTER when a large group of people enter a place and take control of it, especially by military forceoccupation of the German occupation of Franceunder occupation The area is under occupation (=controlled by a foreign army).3 [countable]SPEND TIME a way of spending your time SYN pastime One of my childhood occupations was collecting stamps.4 [uncountable]LIVE SOMEWHERE when someone lives or stays in a building or place When the first scientists came to the region they found little evidence of human occupation.COLLOCATIONSadjectivesADJECTIVES/NOUN + occupationmanual occupations/blue-collar occupations (=jobs in which you work using your hands)People from manual occupations are most at risk of experiencing poverty.professional occupations/white-collar occupations (=jobs that usually involve a lot of education)professional occupations such as medicine or the lawTeachers’ pay compares poorly with that of other white-collar occupations.skilled/unskilled occupations (=needing training and experience/not needing training and experience)Plumbing and carpentry are highly skilled occupations.Workers in unskilled occupations are finding fewer job opportunities.a working-class/middle-class occupationTeaching is regarded as a middle-class occupation.Working-class occupations may be divided into skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled. a male/female occupation (=a job that traditionally is done by men or women)traditional female occupations such as nursingmanagerial occupations (=a job that involves being a manager)Women in managerial occupations tend to have children later.service occupations (=a job in which you provide a service rather than producing goods)Around two thirds of the labour force is employed in service occupations.verbshave an occupationThe people in the region have a variety of occupations.choose an occupationYoung people need help with choosing a suitable occupation.take up an occupation (also enter an occupation formal) (=start doing one)Many of his colleagues have taken up another occupation.Our recent graduates have entered a wide range of occupations.follow an occupation formal (=do one)The third son followed his father’s occupation.
Examples from the Corpus
occupation• Please write your name, address, and occupation in the spaces below.• This intimidation of voters began with attacks and occupations of white-owned farms earlier this year.• One of my childhood occupations was collecting baseball cards.• The main occupation of the people of Kidderminster in those days was weaving, so there were few rich people amongst them.• New Delhi need do no more than keep Kashmir under military occupation and keep the lid on guerrilla warfare.• Life consisted mostly of enjoying the gaiety of a people being liberated after five years of occupation.• Part-time workers often work in low-paid occupations.• Others lose their bids for reelection or voluntarily leave the occupation.• The occupation of the third suspect is not known.• The occupations divided and specialized, replacing self-sufficient ways of life.• The fourth day and the evening following he felt well and was able to pass his time in his usual occupations.occupation of• Union members are continuing their occupation of the factory.Occupation, thethe OccupationOccupation, the the period from 1940–44 during World War II, when France was occupied by the German army → see also Free French, the, VichyFrom Longman Business Dictionaryoccupationoc‧cu‧pa‧tion /ˌɒkjəˈpeɪʃənˌɑːk-/ noun [countable]PROPERTY a job or profession, used especially on official forms or for writing about the jobs people doPlease state your name, age, and occupation.The least stressful occupations in our study were museum work and library work. → service occupation 