Meaning & use
occupation
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Meanings
nouncountable
The work a person does regularly to earn a living.
Grammar: Countable, and is often asked on forms: What is your occupation?
Patterns
- by occupation
Please write your name and occupation on the form.
His occupation is a nurse, though he writes poetry.
What is your father's occupation?
noununcountablemilitary
Control of a country or area by a foreign army that has entered it.
Grammar: Often with of: the occupation of the city.
Patterns
- the occupation of something
- under occupation
The country lived under occupation for five years.
The occupation of the capital began at dawn.
Resistance groups fought the occupation.
noununcountableformal
The state of using a space as a home or place of work.
Grammar: Used in housing: ready for occupation.
Patterns
- ready for occupation
- take up occupation
The new flats will be ready for occupation in May.
The tenant took up occupation of the house last week.
The building has been in continuous occupation since 1900.
nouncountableold-fashioned
Something you do to fill your time, such as a hobby.
Grammar: Takes an adjective: a pleasant occupation.
Gardening is a pleasant occupation in retirement.
The children needed an occupation for the rainy day.
Reading was her favorite occupation.
Word forms
| plural | occupations |
|---|
Common combinations
- by occupation
- She is a teacher by occupation.
- foreign occupation
- The region endured a foreign occupation.
- choose an occupation
- Students must choose an occupation after school.
- military occupation
- The military occupation lasted a decade.
- ready for occupation
- The house is ready for occupation.
Synonyms and how they differ
- profession
- Profession implies a skilled job that needs training, such as law, while occupation covers any job.
- job
- Job is everyday and informal, but occupation is more formal.
- trade
- Trade means a manual or skilled craft.
- career
- Career means a long path of work progress, not one job.
Opposites
Word family
- occupy verb
- to take up space, time or a place
- occupational adjective
- related to a job
- occupant noun
- a person who lives in or uses a place
- occupier noun
- a person who occupies a building or land
Commonly confused: occupation or vocation?
occupation vs vocation
A vocation is a calling one feels strongly drawn to, while occupation is simply what you do for work.
Practice
On a form, 'occupation' asks for:
Choose one answer.
On forms, occupation means your regular work. The other options are different items of information.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “occupation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.