happening

noun hap·pen·ing \ ˈhap-niŋ , ˈha-pə- \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of happening

1 : something that happens : occurrence

2 : an event or series of events designed to evoke a spontaneous reaction to sensory, emotional, or spiritual stimuli

3 : something (such as an event) that is particularly interesting, entertaining, or important

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Examples of happening in a Sentence

the President's visit to the school was a real happening for teachers and students alike
gave a detailed account of all the happenings of the weekend

Recent Examples of happening from the Web

And according to the hotel website, it is believed to be haunted with weird happenings such as a restaurant door that opens and closes almost every evening even though it is locked.

— nancy trejos, USA TODAY, "The most popular hotels in New Orleans, according to Expedia," 10 Apr. 2018
The biggest obstacle to that happening is management teams focusing on their own job preservation instead of what’s best for shareholders.

— ryan dezember, WSJ, "Activist Investors Try to Wake Up a Slumbering Energy Sector," 5 Apr. 2018
So keep up with Lake Erie happenings on RocktheLake.com, cleveland.com's sister website celebrating our waterfront.

— laura johnston, cleveland.com, "Awesome 2018 walleye fishing, plus lakefront restaurants and what it's like aboard a Great Lakes cruise ship: RocktheLake wrap-up," 30 Mar. 2018
With the moon's nocturnal radiance illuminating the area of your chart associated with otherworldly happenings, you'll be motivated to explore the dark crevices of your psyche.

— aliza kelly faragher, Allure, "What April's Aries Horoscope Means for You," 29 Mar. 2018
The FloTrack crazies recap a wild list of happenings at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships.

— ken goe, OregonLive.com, "Galen Rupp dominates; when a world record isn't a world record: Oregon track & field rundown," 11 Mar. 2018
But then Yao would reappear, along with the unsettling happenings around the neighborhood, and their concern would spike again.

— laura crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, "On the street where he lived, fear grew slowly," 3 Mar. 2018
Gone were the days and nights of scrolling mindlessly through photos, tagging friends in memes, and keeping up with the happenings of my favorite accounts.

— michaela bechler, Vogue, "Why I'm Giving Up Instagram For Lent," 14 Feb. 2018
Even in the midst of all the live TV happenings, there's still more behind-the-scenes action to be spotted from the Instagrams of the show's biggest A-Lister attendees.

— lauren alexis fisher, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Best Instagrams from the 2015 MTV VMAs," 31 Aug. 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'happening.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.