Link Centre Dictionary

occasion

oc·ca·sion

UK/əˈkeɪ̯ʒən/ US/əˈkʰeɪ̯ʒən] ~ [əˈkʰeɪ̯ʒn̩/ common
noun (5) verb (1)

noun

1.

an event that occurs at a critical time

  • “at such junctures he always had an impulse to leave”
  • “it was needed only on special occasions”
Synonyms
2.

a vaguely specified social event

  • “the party was quite an affair”
  • “an occasion arranged to honor the president”
  • “a seemingly endless round of social functions”
Synonyms
3.

reason

  • “there was no occasion for complaint”
4.

the time of a particular event

  • “on the occasion of his 60th birthday”
5.

an opportunity to do something

  • “there was never an occasion for her to demonstrate her skill”

verb

1.

Origin

From Middle English occasioun, from Middle French occasion, from Old French occasiun, from Latin occāsiōnem, noun of action from perfect passive participle occāsus, from verb occidō, from prefix ob- (“down", "away”) + verb cadō (“fall”).

Phrases

  • improve the occasion
  • on occasion
  • rise to the occasion
  • social occasion
  • take occasion

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.