happen

verb

hap·​pen ˈha-pən 

-pᵊm

happened; happening ˈha-pə-niŋ 

ˈhap-niŋ

intransitive verb

1

: to occur by chance

—often used with it

it so happens I'm going your way

2

: to come into being or occur as an event, process, or result

mistakes will happen

3

: to do, encounter, or attain something by or as if by chance

I happen to know the answer

4

a

: to meet or discover something by chance

happened upon a system that worked

—Richard Corbin

b

: to come or go casually : make a chance appearance

he might happen by at any time

5

: to come especially by way of injury or harm

I promise nothing will happen to you

Synonyms

• be
• befall
• betide
• chance
• come
• come about
• come down
• come off
• cook
• do
• go down [slang]
• go on
• hap
• occur
• pass
• transpire

Examples of happen in a Sentence

Something like that was bound to happen sooner or later.

You never know what's going to happen when they get together.

What happened at school today?

“What's happening?” “They're installing new equipment.”

Recent Examples on the Web

On Friday, May 16, the Idaho State Police (ISP) revealed the names and origin countries of the individuals who died in the May 1 crash, which happened just before 7:15 p.m. on U.S. Highway 20 near Henry's Lake State Park — about 16 miles west of Yellowstone. —Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 18 May 2025

When this happens, passengers are asked to dump their drinks out in a dedicated dumping facility or throw the whole thing away into a trash can. —Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2025

And Brokeback Mountain was a great success that just seemed to happen on its own. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 17 May 2025

The one bad thing that did happen for the Porters came in the fifth inning when senior shortstop Mikayla Cvitanovich left the game after getting hit in the face on a bad hop. —Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 17 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from hap

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing happen

• disaster waiting to happen
• happen along
• happen by
• happen into
• happen on/upon
• happen to

Rhymes for happen

• lapin
• terrapin

Kids Definition

happen

verb

hap·​pen ˈhap-ən 

ˈhap-ᵊm

happened; happening ˈhap-(ə-)niŋ 

1

: to occur or come about by chance

2

: to take place : occur

3

: to have occasion or opportunity

happened to overhear

4

a

: to meet or find something by chance

happened upon the right answer

b

: to appear casually or by chance

happened into the room just as the music started

5

: to come by way of injury or harm

nothing will happen to you

Etymology

Middle English happenen "to occur by chance," from hap "chance, chance occurrence" — related to happy, mishap, perhaps