Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb occupy

8 senses of occupy

Sense 1
busy, occupy -- (keep busy with; "She busies herself with her butterfly collection")
       => work -- (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor")

Sense 2
occupy, reside, lodge in -- (live (in a certain place); "She resides in Princeton"; "he occupies two rooms on the top floor")
       => populate, dwell, live, inhabit -- (inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of; "People lived in Africa millions of years ago"; "The people inhabited the islands that are now deserted"; "this kind of fish dwells near the bottom of the ocean"; "deer are populating the woods")

Sense 3
occupy, fill -- (occupy the whole of; "The liquid fills the container")
       => be -- (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere; "Where is my umbrella?" "The toolshed is in the back"; "What is behind this behavior?")

Sense 4
concern, interest, occupy, worry -- (be on the mind of; "I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift")

Sense 5
invade, occupy -- (march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation; "Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939")
       => attack, assail -- (launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week")

Sense 6
take, occupy, use up -- (require (time or space); "It took three hours to get to work this morning"; "This event occupied a very short time")
       => use, expend -- (use up, consume fully; "The legislature expended its time on school questions")

Sense 7
absorb, engross, engage, occupy -- (consume all of one's attention or time; "Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely")
       => interest -- (excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of)

Sense 8
fill, take, occupy -- (assume, as of positions or roles; "She took the job as director of development"; "he occupies the position of manager"; "the young prince will soon occupy the throne")
       => work, do work -- (be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college")