Occurrence or occurence: which is correct?

Standard form
occurrence
Non-standard
occurence
Non-standard
occurance
Non-standard
ocurrence
Summary

Standard form: occurrence — Non-standard: occurence / occurance / ocurrence. Occurrence = an incident or event; the fact of something happening.

Part of speech
noun
Source
Oxford

Why

Oxford: the final r of occur doubles before a suffix because the stress falls on the last syllable of the verb — occurred, occurring, occurrence — and the noun ends in -ence, like reference and preference, not -ance.

Examples

  • Power cuts are a rare occurrence here.
  • Report every occurrence of the error to IT.

Wrong → right

✗ Non-standard
Power cuts are a rare occurence here.
✓ Standard form
Power cuts are a rare occurrence here.
✗ Non-standard
Report every occurence of the error to IT.
✓ Standard form
Report every occurrence of the error to IT.
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Checked against
Merriam-Webster / Oxford
Spelling authority
Merriam-Webster · Oxford English Dictionary / Oxford spelling · SCOWL
Commonly confused and non-standard forms
64
Dictionary
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Commonly confused words

Commonly confused words are pairs or groups that sound or look alike but differ in meaning or grammar, such as affect and effect, its and it’s, or principal and principle. Each entry here explains the difference in plain words, shows it in two example sentences and names the convention it follows: Merriam-Webster for American English, Oxford for British English. Spelling variants such as colour and color are marked as correct in their own variety, not as errors.

All entries