occupation
occupation — noun
1. the work that someone does to earn a living, usually written on forms next to yo
the work that someone does to earn a living, usually written on forms next to your name and address.
Please write your name, age, and occupation on the green form.
form-filling context: 'name, age, and occupation'
Maya's occupation is nurse, and she works at the children's hospital in Taipei.
pattern: someone's occupation is [job]
Carlos is a teacher by occupation, but he paints landscapes on weekends.
Many people change their occupation at least three times during their working life.
Farming has been the family's main occupation for over a hundred years.
- job
more everyday and conversational; 'occupation' sounds more formal.
- profession
suggests work needing long training or qualifications, like law or medicine.
- career
covers a whole working life, not just current paid work.
文法句型
by occupation
occupation as [job title]
用法筆記
Often appears on forms and official documents where 'job' would feel too casual. Frequently used with 'by' to state someone's profession (a doctor by occupation).
常見錯誤
2. something you do to fill your free time and keep yourself busy, especially when
something you do to fill your free time and keep yourself busy, especially when it is not your paid work.
Painting watercolours has been Grandma's favourite occupation since she retired.
collocation: favourite occupation
Reading detective novels is a pleasant occupation for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
pattern: [activity] is a [adjective] occupation
Marcus needed a quiet occupation to keep his hands busy after the surgery.
For the children, building sandcastles was a serious occupation that lasted all morning.
Lina took up knitting as an evening occupation while watching her favourite shows.
文法句型
a [adjective] occupation
用法筆記
Subject is usually an activity or -ing form, not a person. Often appears with adjectives showing how the activity feels (pleasant, quiet, harmless, favourite). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is unpaid and chosen for enjoyment.
常見錯誤
3. the situation where the army of one country has entered another country and is r
the situation where the army of one country has entered another country and is ruling it by force.
France lived under German occupation for four long years during the Second World War.
fixed phrase: 'under occupation'
The Roman occupation of Britain lasted nearly four centuries before the soldiers withdrew.
pattern: occupation of [place]
Citizens in the capital staged silent protests against the foreign occupation of their city.
The museum has a whole room about life during the occupation, including hidden radios and forged papers.
After three months of fighting, the occupation of the port city ended with a peace treaty.
- liberation
the act of freeing a place from foreign military control.
- withdrawal
the moment foreign troops leave the occupied area.
文法句型
under occupation
occupation of [place]
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable and usually preceded by 'the' or a defining adjective (the German occupation, foreign occupation). Frequently followed by 'of' + place name. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense involves military force and a hostile takeover, not peaceful living.
常見錯誤
4. the formal state of someone holding, residing in, or making use of a house, flat
the formal state of someone holding, residing in, or making use of a house, flat, or plot of land, especially as set out in a contract or property record.
The new flats will be ready for occupation by tenants in early September.
fixed phrase: 'ready for occupation'
The old farmhouse has been in continuous occupation by the same family for six generations.
collocation: continuous occupation
The contract sets out the rules during the tenant's occupation of the property.
Workers cannot take occupation of the new offices until the safety check is finished.
Heavy rains made the lower fields unsuitable for occupation by livestock.
- vacancy
the state of a property being empty and unused.
文法句型
occupation of [building]
ready for occupation
用法筆記
Mainly appears in legal, rental, or estate-agent writing. Subject is usually a building, flat, or piece of land rather than a country. Distinguish from sense 3: no military force is involved; the focus is peaceful, often paid, residence or use.