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
He’s got a girlfriend and a best friend who happens to be a wo...
—
Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Our favorite duos lift each other up and happen to have distinctive styles that truly resonate with us.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 10 Apr. 2024
Their goal is to share a fun and inventive approach to tackling the tough topic of what’s happening to our coral reefs.
—Christina Mayo, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
For most of the sixties, Cazale acted Off Broadway and made extra money as a cabdriver or as a messenger for Standard Oil, where one of his co-workers happened to be Al Pacino.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2024
The Boss paid a visit to his longtime stylist Chris McMillan (who also happens to be Jennifer Aniston's pro and one of the top stylists in Hollywood), while out on the California leg of his 2024 world tour.
—Brittany Talarico, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Carmona also reached out to his political contacts throughout California to sound the alarms of what was happening to these migrants, who were among many over the past two years bused or flown from southern U.S. states to immigration sanctuary cities with similar false promises.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
One of the things that really interested me to explore given this unique set of circumstances was, what happens to a town over 25 years and to the people in it?
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
The last song recorded happened to be one of the album’s signature songs.
—Daniel Kohn, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Our favorite duos lift each other up and happen to have distinctive styles that truly resonate with us.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 10 Apr. 2024
Their goal is to share a fun and inventive approach to tackling the tough topic of what’s happening to our coral reefs.
—Christina Mayo, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
For most of the sixties, Cazale acted Off Broadway and made extra money as a cabdriver or as a messenger for Standard Oil, where one of his co-workers happened to be Al Pacino.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2024
The Boss paid a visit to his longtime stylist Chris McMillan (who also happens to be Jennifer Aniston's pro and one of the top stylists in Hollywood), while out on the California leg of his 2024 world tour.
—Brittany Talarico, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Carmona also reached out to his political contacts throughout California to sound the alarms of what was happening to these migrants, who were among many over the past two years bused or flown from southern U.S. states to immigration sanctuary cities with similar false promises.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
One of the things that really interested me to explore given this unique set of circumstances was, what happens to a town over 25 years and to the people in it?
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
The last song recorded happened to be one of the album’s signature songs.
—Daniel Kohn, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'happen to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to happen to
Dictionary Entries Near happen to
Cite this Entry
“Happen to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happen%20to. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share