What does ocupar in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word ocupar in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use ocupar in Spanish.

The word ocupar in Spanish means take up, occupy, hold, spend, employ, need, use, take care of. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word ocupar

take up

verbo transitivo (espacio, lugar: llenar)

(phrasal verb, transitive, inseparable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, not divisible--for example,"go with" [=combine nicely]: "Those red shoes don't go with my dress." NOT [S]"Those red shoes don't go my dress with."[/S])
Los juguetes de mi hijo ocupan todo su cuarto.
My son's toys take up his whole room.

occupy

verbo transitivo (apoderarse, posesionarse)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El ejército ocupó la ciudad para reprimir las manifestaciones estudiantiles.
The army occupied the city to suppress the student protests.

hold

verbo transitivo (desempeñar un empleo)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Mi prima ocupa el puesto de cajera en el banco.
My cousin holds the position of teller at the bank.

spend

verbo transitivo (tiempo: dedicar, destinar)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
La abogada ocupa todo su tiempo en trabajar y no tiene ratos libres.
The lawyer spends all her time at work and doesn't have any free time.

employ

verbo transitivo (proporcionar: empleo)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
La constructora ocupa a treinta albañiles en la remodelación del edificio.
The builder employs thirty masons in the building renovation.

need

verbo transitivo (AmC, CL, MX (necesitar, requerir)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Ocupamos una respuesta antes del mediodía. Estas plantas ocupan más agua.
We need an answer by midday. These plants need more water.

use

verbo transitivo (CL, MX, SV (usar)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Este mueble se puede vender porque no lo ocupamos desde hace meses.
This piece of furniture can be sold as we haven't used it in months.

take care of

verbo pronominal (encargarse de algo, alguien)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
El padre se ocupa de todos los problemas financieros de la familia.
The father takes care of all the family's financial problems.

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So now that you know more about the meaning of ocupar in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.