occurred

Occur is a verb meaning to happen or take place, or to come to mind in the clause it occurred to me. It is intransitive and typically does not take a direct object. The past tense is occurred, as in An error occurred during processing. The third person singular present is occurs, and the present participle is occurring.

Etymology and forms: Occur originates from Latin occurrere, meaning to run toward or to meet, from ob- “toward” + currere “to run,” and reached English via Old French and Middle English. The related noun occurrence comes from Latin occursus via Old French and English, used to denote an event or instance of something happening. Related verbs include occur and occurring, while related ideas are captured by happen, transpire, and take place.

Usage notes: The verb is commonly used to describe events, incidents, or phenomena. In more informal contexts, happen is common, while take place is often preferred in formal writing. The phrase occur to someone conveys the idea of something suddenly coming to mind, as in It did not occur to me until later.

See also: occurrence, occurrences; occurring; incident; transpire.