Meaning & use
occurrence
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something that happens, especially something notable or unusual; an event or incident.
Grammar: Countable; often modified by common, rare, or daily: a common occurrence.
Patterns
- a common occurrence
- a rare occurrence
- an occurrence of something
Power cuts are a daily occurrence in the old part of town.
An encounter with a bear is a rare occurrence in this region.
nounusually singularformal
The fact or process of something happening.
Grammar: Used with of in a slightly formal style: the occurrence of disease.
Patterns
- the occurrence of something
- record the occurrence
- prevent the occurrence
Scientists studied the occurrence of earthquakes over a hundred years.
Better drainage reduced the occurrence of flooding in the valley.
Word forms
| plural | occurrences |
|---|
Common combinations
- a common occurrence
- Flight delays are a common occurrence at this airport.
- a rare occurrence
- Snow in May is a rare occurrence here.
- a daily occurrence
- Short power cuts are a daily occurrence during the dry season.
- report an occurrence
- Staff are asked to report any occurrence of vandalism to the office.
- the occurrence of something
- The drug reduces the occurrence of severe headaches.
Synonyms and how they differ
- event
- A general word for something that happens, often planned or important; occurrence often stresses how often something happens.
- incident
- Suggests a single, often unpleasant or unusual event; it does not collocate with frequency words like common occurrence does.
- happening
- Informal and broad; occurrence is more formal and often used in reports and science.
Word family
- occur verb
- To happen, or to come to mind; spelling has one r in the verb, double letters in the noun.
- recurrence noun
- The fact of something happening again.
- recurring adjective
- Happening repeatedly, as in a recurring problem.
Commonly confused: occurrence or occasion?
occurrence vs occasion
An occasion is a particular time or a special event, while an occurrence is anything that happens; note the different spellings.
Practice
Flooding is a frequent ___ in this valley, especially in spring.
Choose one answer.
Occurrence means something that happens and pairs naturally with frequent. Occasion means a particular time or special event, so it does not fit the meaning here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “occurrence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.