happen to

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

Best player available also happens to be a need. —Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026

What happened to Thursday and Friday? —Troy Renck, Denver Post, 25 Apr. 2026

Talarico seems to recognize that some Texans mistrust his novel messaging, and that his job now is to convince would-be Christian voters that his faith is an honest reading of scripture—which just so happens to point in a progressive direction. —Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2026

One of the worst things that can happen to a young and evidently talented author is to be lauded too enthusiastically too soon. —Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for happen to

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