occupation

[ok-yuh-pey-shuh n] /ˌɒk yəˈpeɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
a person's usual or principal work or business, especially as a means of earning a living; vocation:
Her occupation was dentistry.
2.
any activity in which a person is engaged.
3.
possession, settlement, or use of land or property.
4.
the act of occupying.
5.
the state of being occupied.
6.
the seizure and control of an area by military forces, especially foreign territory.
7.
the term of control of a territory by foreign military forces:
Danish resistance during the German occupation.
8.
tenure or the holding of an office or official function:
during his occupation of the vice presidency.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English occupacioun < Middle French occupation < Latin occupātiōn- (stem of occupātiō), equivalent to occupāt(us) (past participle of occupāre; see occupy) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
occupationless, adjective
occupative, adjective
nonoccupation, noun
reoccupation, noun
self-occupation, noun
Synonyms
1. employment, pursuit, craft, métier. Occupation, business, profession, trade refer to the activity to which one regularly devotes oneself, especially one's regular work, or means of getting a living. Occupation is the general word: a pleasant or congenial occupation. Business especially suggests a commercial or mercantile occupation: the printing business. Profession implies an occupation requiring special knowledge and training in some field of science or learning: the profession of teaching. Trade suggests an occupation involving manual training and skill: one of the building trades. 3. occupancy.
Examples from the web for occupation
  • They are interested in reaching a specific goal, usually related to their chosen occupation or profession.
  • Age, occupation, income and social status quickly dissolve in the woods.
  • Her father was a cabinetmaker who preferred to hunt for fossils, but neither occupation brought the family much money.
  • Horton claims she's not being taken seriously because of her education and occupation, not because her painting is a fake.
  • They are also an evolutionary treasure, paradoxically preserved of late by war and military occupation.
  • Retirement in his cell was his delight, and divine contemplation and prayer his perpetual occupation.
  • At all events they were living in small huts, about such as soldiers would hastily construct for temporary occupation.
  • Wicked deeds are generally done, even with impunity, for the mere desire of occupation.
  • But far more important than the question of the occupation of our citizens is the question of how their family life is conducted.
  • Wicked acts are accustomed to be done with impunity for the mere desire of occupation.
British Dictionary definitions for occupation

occupation

/ˌɒkjʊˈpeɪʃən/
noun
1.
a person's regular work or profession; job or principal activity
2.
any activity on which time is spent by a person
3.
the act of occupying or the state of being occupied
4.
the control of a country by a foreign military power
5.
the period of time that a nation, place, or position is occupied
6.
(modifier) for the use of the occupier of a particular property: occupation road, occupation bridge
Word Origin and History for occupation
n.

early 14c., "fact of holding or possessing;" mid-14c., "a being employed in something," also "a particular action," from Old French occupacion "pursuit, work, employment; occupancy, occupation" (12c.), from Latin occupationem (nominative occupatio) "a taking possession; business, employment," noun of action from past participle stem of occupare (see occupy). Meaning "employment, business in which one engages" is late 14c. That of "condition of being held and ruled by troops of another country" is from 1940.