occasion

The word “occasion” means a particular time when something happens, especially something notable. In plain terms, a specific time or event, or a reason for doing something.

“Occasion” is pronounced uh-KAY-zhuhn (/əˈkeɪ̯ʒən/ in IPA).

Here is “occasion” used in a sentence: “On this occasion, I'll let it slide.”

Depending on how it is used, “occasion” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “occasion” comes from Latin. From Latin occasio, "opportunity, occurrence", from occidere, "to fall down, happen" — from ob- plus cadere ("to fall").

“Occasion” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Occasion” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a particular time when something happens, especially something notable.

An occasion is a particular time when something happens, especially something notable, or a reason or need for something ("there was no occasion for rudeness"). An opportunity is a favourable chance to do something. An occasion marks when or why something happens; an opportunity is an opening you can take advantage of.

The standard idiom is "on occasion," meaning occasionally or from time to time: "He works late on occasion." "On occasions" is not idiomatic on its own, though "on several occasions" or "on rare occasions" are perfectly correct because they count specific times.

The correct spelling is occasion, with a double c and a single s. "Occassion" and "ocasion" are common misspellings; remembering "two c's, one s" helps.