occupy

/ˈɒkjʊpaɪ/

//ˈɒkjʊpaɪ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"occupy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“occupy” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,950. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,950
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To take or use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-occupy · occupy · English

occupy · rank #7,950 · 7 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,950
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH obtaining

Nearest frequency peer: obtaining (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “occupy”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “occupy” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

occupy vs occur
67% similar
occupy vs occurs
67% similar
occupy vs occult
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for occupy
PropertyValue
Headwordoccupy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈɒkjʊpaɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,950
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “occupy” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).occupylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “obtaining” (#7,949), “offended” (#7,951), “norm” (#7,948). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around occupy (IPA /ˈɒkjʊpaɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,950 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for occupy, with forms such as "cocupy", "occpuy", and "occuppy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "occur", "occurs", "occult", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English occupien, occupyen, borrowed from Old French occuper, from Latin occupāre (“to take possession of, seize, occupy, take up, employ”), from ob (“to, on”) + capiō (“to take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize, grab”). Do… The correct English form is occupy, spelled O-C-C-U-P-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To take or use.
  2. 2
    To take or use.
  3. 3
    To take or use.
  4. 4
    To take or use.
  5. 5
    To take or use space.
  6. 6
    To take or use space.
  7. 7
    To take or use space.
  8. 8
    To take or use space.
  9. 9
    To have sexual intercourse with.
  10. 10
    To do business in; to busy oneself with.
  11. 11
    To use; to expend; to make use of.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how occupy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The film occupied three hours of my time.
  2. I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.

Etymology

From Middle English occupien, occupyen, borrowed from Old French occuper, from Latin occupāre (“to take possession of, seize, occupy, take up, employ”), from ob (“to, on”) + capiō (“to take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize, grab”). Doublet of occupate, now obsolete.

Synonyms

employbusycoitizego to bed withsleep withcopulate with

This word in other languages

ocupar(Español)occuper(Français)belegen(Deutsch)ocupar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cocupy
  • occpuy
  • occuppy
  • occupyy
  • occuyp
  • ocucpy
  • ocupy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of occupy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cocupy2occpuy2occuppy1occupyy1occuyp2ocucpy2ocupy1
Edit distance from "occupy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "occupy"?
"occupy" is spelled O-C-C-U-P-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒkjʊpaɪ/.
What does "occupy" mean?
As a verb, "occupy" means: To take or use.
What words are commonly confused with "occupy"?
"occupy" is commonly confused with "occur", "occurs", "occult". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "occupy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "occupy" is /ˈɒkjʊpaɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "occupy"?
From Middle English occupien, occupyen, borrowed from Old French occuper, from Latin occupāre (“to take possession of, seize, occupy, take up, employ”), from ob (“to, on”) + capiō (“to take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize, ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "occupy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pierce#7,958pistol#7,959mentor#7,940shells#7,976

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

prone7 variantsguild7 variantssonic7 variantsspine7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "occupy". Here's where to go from here.

  • "occupy" maps to 3 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "occur". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,950 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list