Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rise to the occasion

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.24 in modern English

Syllables: rise -to the oc-ca-sion
IPA

24

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To show resolve or effectiveness in dealing with a difficulty.

verb

To achieve an erection of the penis.

Humorous

Example Sentences

"Gabriel, though one of the quietest and most gentle men on earth, rose to the occasion, with martial promptness and vigour. "That's my fist. . . . Now — the first man in the parish that I hear prophesying bad of our mistress, why" (here the fist was raised and let fall as Thor might have done with his hammer in assaying it) — "he'll smell and taste that.""
"As it happened, this particular ordeal was exceedingly severe, but nothing can excuse the absolute failure of the troops concerned to rise to the occasion."
"How many times have we heard this story? The one about people rising to the occasion, storming the cockpit of the hijacked jet, racing into the burning building, tackling the gunman, saving a life."
"To his comic fury and shame, the traveller's 'master part' fails to rise to the occasion, and the girl's innocence is preserved."

Usage

Humorous

Inflected Forms

rises to the occasion (present, singular) rising to the occasion (participle, present) rose to the occasion (past) risen to the occasion (participle, past)

Phrases

answer the call

Frequently Paired Words

answer the call

Synonyms

rise to the challenge

Questions

What does rise to the occasion mean?: To show resolve or effectiveness in dealing with a difficulty.

How to pronounce rise to the occasion

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