occupancy

/ˈɑkjəpənsi/

/ˈɒkjupɪnsi/

Other forms: occupancies

Occupancy is the act of owning, renting, or taking possession of a building. When you and your family move into a new house, you are taking occupancy of that home.

You're probably most familiar with the word occupancy from signs in auditoriums and concert halls that state the room's "maximum occupancy." A maximum occupancy of 100 means only 100 people can safely fit inside that room at one time. A single-occupancy hotel room is meant for one person. The opposite of occupancy is vacancy––when no one is in possession. Hotels let you know when they have a vacancy by flashing a sign.

Definitions of occupancy

1. noun

   an act of being a tenant or occupant
   synonyms: tenancy

   types:

   habitation, inhabitancy, inhabitation

   the act of dwelling in or living permanently in a place (said of both animals and men)

   cohabitation

   the act of living together and having a sexual relationship (especially without being married)

   bivouacking, camping, encampment, tenting

   the act or practice of living in temporary shelters outdoors

   type of:

   abidance, residence, residency

   the act of dwelling in a place
2. noun

   the act of occupying or taking possession of a building
   “occupation of a building without a certificate of occupancy is illegal”

   synonyms: moving in, occupation

   types:

   preoccupancy, preoccupation

   the act of taking occupancy before someone else does

   type of:

   acquiring, getting

   the act of acquiring something