happen to
phrasal verb
happened to; happening to; happens to
: to affect or involve (someone or something) as the result of an event or action
An odd thing happened to me on my way to the office last week.
I wonder what/whatever happened to that guy after he lost his job.
especially
: to affect (someone or something) in a bad or harmful way
I promise nothing will happen to you.
What happened to the car? There's a big scratch on the fender.
Examples of happen to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the best restaurants in the US just happens to be in Kentucky.
—
Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Oct. 2025
At 10 years old, Yaghi happened to discover molecular structures in a book in the school library.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
He’s used to having headwinds at every turn, but the stakes are so high knowing what can happen to a policeman in prison.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Nothing like this has happened to this scale.
—ABC News, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happen to
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Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Oct. 2025
At 10 years old, Yaghi happened to discover molecular structures in a book in the school library.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
He’s used to having headwinds at every turn, but the stakes are so high knowing what can happen to a policeman in prison.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Nothing like this has happened to this scale.
—ABC News, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happen to
Cite this Entry
“Happen to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happen%20to. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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