# occur

Pronunciation: say "uh-KUR" US /əˈkɝ/, UK/AUS /əˈkɜː/

## Verb

1. To happen or arise, usually at a particular time or in particular circumstances.
   - Simple: To happen, or to come up, like a chance or a problem.
   - _Major floods occur here every few years._
   - _The collision occurred at a busy intersection during rush hour._
2. To come or present itself to the mind as a thought or idea, often unbidden.
   - Simple: To come into your mind as a sudden thought or idea.
   - _It never occurred to them that the door might be locked._
   - _The idea will occur to you when you least expect it._
3. To be present or found in a particular place or environment.
   - Simple: To be present or found in a certain place.
   - _Several rare elements occur naturally in seawater._
   - _Several rare orchids occur only in this one mountain valley._

## Origin

Latin combined the prefix 'ob-' ('against') with the verb 'currō' ('run, hurry, move') to make 'occurrō' ('run to meet, befall, present itself'); Middle French took it as 'occurrer', and English borrowed it from there with the early sense 'meet (in argument)'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/occur (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).