occupy
occupy — 動詞
1. to be present across a particular area, or to last across a particular stretch o
佔據；佔用
佔去某段空間或時間
to be present across a particular area, or to last across a particular stretch of time.
The grand piano occupies one whole corner of Mei-Ling's living room.
美玲家客廳的一整個角落都被那台平台鋼琴佔據了。
occupy + corner/space (physical area)
Reviewing emails occupies the first hour of Marcus's working day.
回覆電子郵件佔用了馬可斯每天工作的第一個小時。
occupy + period of time
Two tall bookshelves occupy the wall behind the sofa.
兩座高高的書櫃佔據了沙發後方的整面牆。
A small fish tank occupies the space between the window and the desk.
一個小魚缸佔用了窗戶和書桌之間的位置。
The opening ceremony occupied nearly forty minutes of the schedule.
開幕典禮在整個流程中佔去了將近四十分鐘。
- vacate
to leave a space empty
文法句型
occupy + place/area
occupy + period of time
用法筆記
Subject is usually a thing or activity, not a person. For people living somewhere, see sense 2; for filling someone's mind or time, see sense 3.
常見錯誤
2. to live, work, or carry out daily activities inside a building, room, or piece o
居住於；使用
住在或使用某棟建物
to live, work, or carry out daily activities inside a building, room, or piece of land.
The Patel family has occupied the house on Cedar Street since 1998.
帕特爾一家從1998年起就一直居住在雪松街那棟房子。
occupy + house (residential)
A small design studio occupies the top floor of the old bakery building.
一間小型設計工作室使用著那棟舊麵包店的頂樓。
occupy + floor (workplace)
The flat above the café is currently occupied by two music students.
咖啡店樓上的公寓目前由兩名音樂系學生租住。
Before the renovation, a doctor occupied the front room as a small clinic.
整修之前，有位醫師把前廳當作小診所使用。
- vacate
to move out of a property
文法句型
occupy + building/room/property
be occupied by + person/group
用法筆記
More formal than 'live in' or 'use'. Common in legal, real estate, and official contexts. Frequently passive when the focus is on the building rather than the resident.
3. to fill someone's time, attention, or thoughts so that they have something to do
使忙碌
讓某人有事做或心有所繫
to fill someone's time, attention, or thoughts so that they have something to do or something to think about.
Grandma gave the children some old photos to occupy them during the long train ride.
奶奶拿出一些舊照片，讓孩子們在漫長的火車旅程中有事可做。
occupy + someone (with an activity)
Carlos occupied himself with crossword puzzles while waiting for the test results.
等待檢查結果時，卡洛斯靠著玩填字遊戲打發時間。
occupy oneself with + noun
Worries about her sick cat occupied Hana's mind throughout the meeting.
整場會議中，花奈滿腦子都是生病的貓，無法專心。
The new puppy keeps the whole family occupied from morning until night.
新來的小狗讓全家人從早忙到晚，沒有一刻得閒。
Sorting old letters occupied my grandfather for most of the rainy afternoon.
整理舊信件讓我祖父在那個下雨的下午忙了大半天。
- bore
to fail to hold someone's attention
文法句型
occupy + person
occupy oneself + with/by + -ing
be occupied with + noun
用法筆記
Often reflexive ('occupy oneself') or passive ('be/keep occupied'). Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is a person (or their mind), not a place or duration.
常見錯誤
4. (of an army or organised group) to enter a country, town, or building by force a
佔領
以武力進入並控制某地
(of an army or organised group) to enter a country, town, or building by force and stay in control of it.
Roman troops occupied much of southern Britain for nearly four hundred years.
羅馬軍隊佔領了不列顛南部大部分地區，前後將近四百年。
army + occupy + region (historical)
Protesters occupied the university library for three days to demand lower fees.
抗議學生佔領了大學圖書館三天，要求降低學費。
civilian group + occupy + building (protest)
The rebel forces occupied the radio station shortly after midnight.
叛軍部隊在午夜過後不久就佔領了那座廣播電台。
Several coastal towns were occupied by enemy soldiers during the war.
戰爭期間，沿海有好幾個城鎮都被敵軍佔領。
- liberate
to free a place from foreign or hostile control
- withdraw from
to remove forces from an occupied area
文法句型
occupy + country/territory/building
用法筆記
Implies entering by force or against the wishes of the people there. Often passive when the focus is on the place rather than the invading group. Distinguish from sense 2, which has no idea of force or conflict.
常見錯誤
5. to hold a particular job, office, or formal role within an organisation.
擔任；出任
擔任某個正式職位
to hold a particular job, office, or formal role within an organisation.
Dr. Tanaka has occupied the post of chief surgeon since 2015.
田中醫師自2015年起便擔任主任外科醫師一職。
occupy + post (professional)
Few women occupied senior management roles at the firm before the 1990s.
在1990年代以前，這家公司很少有女性擔任高階管理職。
occupy + role (with quantifier)
Mayor Chen will occupy the chair of the planning committee for another two years.
陳市長將再擔任都市計畫委員會主席兩年。
The position was occupied by an interim director while the search continued.
在持續徵才的同時，這個職位先由一位代理主任擔任。
- vacate
to leave a post empty, e.g. by retiring or resigning
文法句型
occupy + position/post/role
用法筆記
Formal; common in CVs, official biographies, and news writing. The object is an abstract role (post, position, chair, office), not a physical seat. For physical sitting, use 'sit in' or 'take' a seat.