Reoccupies

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To take possession of or begin using a place once more after having left it earlier
2. To return to and control a location that was previously vacated or abandoned
3. To enter and make use of an area or position again following a period of absence

Etymology: "Reoccupies" is the third-person singular form of "reoccupy," so it is simply the verb in its present tense, used with he, she, or it. The verb is a straightforward compound: the prefix "re-" meaning "again" or "back," attached to "occupy." That occupy traces back to Latin "occupare," meaning "to seize" or "take possession of," built from "ob-" ("toward" or "against") and "capere" ("to take"), and it reached English through Old French. The prefix "re-" carries the same sense of repetition in its Latin origin, so "reoccupy" literally means to take possession again. Its meaning follows the familiar pattern of the base word: to take up a place, space, or position once more after having left it. The word is formed in English from these two parts rather than being a loan of a single ready-made term.

Synonyms: recaptures, reclaims, resettles

Antonyms: evacuates, abandon