happen on/upon

phrasal verb

happened on/upon; happening on/upon; happens on/upon

literary + old-fashioned

: to find or meet (someone or something) by chance

She happened on a little cottage in the woods.

I happened upon them at the grocery store.

Examples of happen on/upon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Under Musk's vision, humans would not just step on the planet before departing, but would remain to establish a settlement that could function independently if any cataclysmic event were to ever happen on Earth. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025

Any slate co-financing is bound to happen on mid-sized budget movies that have risk potential. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025

The ultimate objective of ‘politicising’ the Fed, if that is what is at stake, is to make sure that the next crisis doesn’t happen on Donald Trump’s watch. —Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Going away for college, getting married, having kids, buying a house, and settling into a career no longer happen on a predictable timeline, if at all. —Essence, 4 Aug. 2025

The early-afternoon incursion was the second one to happen on Sunday. —Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 3 Aug. 2025

What will happen on Aug. 2, 2027 — two years from today — is the longest total solar eclipse on land this century. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025

The next drawing will happen on 11 p.m. ET Saturday. —Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025

Even though those efforts do not always happen on Washington’s terms, their contributions to a freer, more open region align with Washington’s strategic interest. —Jeffrey Mankoff, Foreign Affairs, 24 July 2025