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

That just happened to be attended by about 120 former players in town to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Denver’s most recent Super Bowl win and the induction of late wide receiver Demaryius Thomas into the team’s Ring of Fame. —Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025

The Public happens to be the very same venue where Hamilton made its off-Broadway debut inFebruary 2015, before moving to Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre that August. —Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025

Oliver Park’s directorial debut is based on the Jewish folktale about the female demon Abyzou, which (believe it or not) happens to be perfect fodder for a horror film set at a Hasidic funeral home in Brooklyn. —Emma Specter, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2025

What happens to the eight students who formed the human swastika is under wraps so far, but what happened to SDUHSD employees Dolnik and Adams is not. —Marsha Sutton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for happen to

• amadou
• avenue
• ballyhoo
• baraboo
• barbecue
• barbeque
• bugaboo
• cabildo
• caribou
• cockatoo
• detinue
• devalue