occurrence

/əˈkʌrəns/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈkɜːrəns/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˈkər-ən(t)s -ˈkə-rən(t)s/ (ame, mw)

occurrence — noun

  • occurrencesingular
  • occurrencesplural

1. an event that takes place, especially one that is noticed or recorded as part of

1.名詞C1
釋義

an event that takes place, especially one that is noticed or recorded as part of a series of similar events.

例句

Power cuts are a daily occurrence in our village during the rainy season.

collocation: a daily occurrence

Snow in April is a rare occurrence in southern Spain.

collocation: a rare occurrence

同義詞
  • event

    more general and far more common in everyday speech

  • incident

    often suggests something unwelcome or noteworthy, sometimes minor

  • happening

    more informal; often used about something unexpected

文法句型

a [adjective] occurrence

a common/rare/daily occurrence

用法筆記

Almost always preceded by an adjective describing how often or how unusual the event is (daily, rare, common, strange, everyday). A bare 'an occurrence' without a modifier sounds incomplete.

常見錯誤

❌There was an occurrence yesterday.
✅There was a strange occurrence yesterday.
💡the noun normally needs an adjective; otherwise prefer 'event' or 'incident'.
❌occurance' (misspelling).
✅occurrence
💡double 'r', double 'c', '-ence' ending.

2. the fact that something is present in a place or group, or how often it is found

2.名詞C1
釋義

the fact that something is present in a place or group, or how often it is found there, often discussed in scientific or statistical writing.

例句

Researchers are studying the occurrence of asthma among children in industrial cities.

pattern: the occurrence of [noun] among [group]

The mineral has a wide occurrence in volcanic rocks across East Africa.

pattern: wide/limited occurrence in [place]

同義詞
  • incidence

    near-equivalent in scientific contexts; the rate at which something occurs

  • presence

    broader; emphasises being there rather than how often

  • frequency

    focuses on how often, less on whether it exists at all

反義詞
  • absence

    the state of not being present at all

文法句型

the occurrence of [noun]

occurrence in/among [group]

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is uncountable and used to describe presence or frequency across a whole group, place, or time period. Sense 1 (countable) refers to a single event. If you can replace it with 'an event', use sense 1; if you can replace it with 'presence' or 'how often it is found', use sense 2.

常見錯誤

❌The occurrences of the disease is rising.
✅The occurrence of the disease is rising.
💡in this sense the noun is uncountable, so no plural and a singular verb.