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
This always seems to happen to me in Alberta.
—
Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
For two seasons, Garcelle Beauvais played senior partner Hanna Linden, who just so happened to be Karp's ex-girlfriend.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
That’ll happen to our own sun in about 5 billion years.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
Something unexplained happened to Wilson, in fact, just before our Zoom conversation.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happen to
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Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
For two seasons, Garcelle Beauvais played senior partner Hanna Linden, who just so happened to be Karp's ex-girlfriend.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
That’ll happen to our own sun in about 5 billion years.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
Something unexplained happened to Wilson, in fact, just before our Zoom conversation.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happen to
Cite this Entry
“Happen to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happen%20to. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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