English Dictionary
Definition occur in British English
occur
What are red words?
Around 90% of spoken and written English relies on just 7,500 common words.
These words are highlighted in red and are ranked using a star system.
- One-star words are commonly used
- Two-star words are even more common
- Three-star words are the most frequently used
[intransitive]
verb
What are red words?
Around 90% of spoken and written English relies on just 7,500 common words.These words are highlighted in red and are ranked using a star system.
- One-star words are commonly used
- Two-star words are even more common
- Three-star words are the most frequently used
Don’t write the -ed and -ing forms of occur with only one ‘r’. The correct spellings are occurred and occurring:
✗ It never ocured to me that I could be wrong.
✓ It never occurred to me that I could be wrong.
✗ Many changes are occuring at every level of education.
✓ Many changes are occurring at every level of education.
The reason why the ‘r’ is doubled in the -ed and -ing forms is that the stress falls on the final syllable of the verb in its infinitive form: occur.
The same rule applies to most other verbs ending in -ur and -er where the stress falls on the final syllable:
prefer
preferred
preferring
confer
conferred
conferring
concur
concurred
concurring
When the stress does not fall on the final syllable, the -ed and -ing forms are spelled with one ‘r’:
utter
uttered
uttering
cater
catered
catering
murmur
murmured
murmuring
