occasion Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an event that occurs at a critical time
    juncture.
    • at such junctures he always had an impulse to leave
    • it was needed only on special occasions
  2. noun a vaguely specified social event
    function; affair; social occasion; social function.
    • the party was quite an affair
    • an occasion arranged to honor the president
    • a seemingly endless round of social functions
  3. noun reason
    • there was no occasion for complaint
  4. noun the time of a particular event
    • on the occasion of his 60th birthday
  5. noun an opportunity to do something
    • there was never an occasion for her to demonstrate her skill
  6. verb give occasion to

WordNet

Oc*ca"sion noun
Etymology
F. occasion, L. occasio, fr.occidere, occasum, to fall down; ob (see Ob-) + cadere to fall. See Chance, and cf. Occident.
Definitions
  1. A falling out, happening, or coming to pass; hence, that which falls out or happens; occurrence; incident.
    The unlooked-for incidents of family history, and its hidden excitements, and its arduous occasions. I. Taylor.
  2. A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance; convenience.
    Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me. Rom. vii. 11.
    I'll take the occasion which he gives to bring Him to his death. Waller.
  3. An occurrence or condition of affairs which brings with it some unlooked-for event; that which incidentally brings to pass an event, without being its efficient cause or sufficient reason; accidental or incidental cause.
    Her beauty was the occasion of the war. Dryden.
  4. Need; exigency; requirement; necessity; as, I have no occasion for firearms.
    After we have served ourselves and our own occasions. Jer. Taylor.
    When my occasions took me into France. Burke.
  5. A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion.
    Whose manner was, all passengers to stay, And entertain with her occasions sly. Spenser.
    De Foe. Syn. -- Need; incident; use. See Opportunity.
Oc*ca"sion transitive verb
Etymology
Cf.F. occasionner.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Occasioned ; present participle & verbal noun Occasioning
Definitions
  1. To give occasion to; to cause; to produce; to induce; as, to occasion anxiety. South.
    If we inquire what it is that occasions men to make several combinations of simple ideas into distinct modes. Locke.

Webster 1913