Oxford Dictionary English occur to phrasal verbphrasal verb Add to my wordlistjump to other resultsPhrasal Verbs occur to somebody Add to my wordlistjump to other results (of an idea or a thought) to come into your mind The idea occurred to him in a dream. occur to somebody that… It didn't occur to him that his wife was having an affair. occur to somebody to do something It didn't occur to her to ask for help. oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com