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

But there is one easy trick that could help make things a little smoother if this does happen to you. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 21 Dec. 2025

Lee, who happens to be California's youngest legislator. —Layla Ferris, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025

Keep reading to find out more about the Zodiac Killer’s victims and what happened to them. —Nicole Briese, PEOPLE, 21 Dec. 2025

There’s no worse time for a shopping mall food court restaurant to get closed by failing inspection, and that happened to a place at a South Florida mall last week. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 21 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for happen to

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