hap 1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈhap How to pronounce hap (audio)
Definition of hapnext
1
as in event
something that happens we must make the best of both the good and the bad haps of life

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in luck
the uncertain course of events by hap and circumstance, he ended up as a cartoonist in New York

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

hap

2 of 3

noun (2)

dialect
as in quilt
a decorative cloth used as a top covering for a bed the hap was a patchwork quilt that the old woman had made herself

Synonyms & Similar Words

hap

3 of 3

verb

as in to happen
to take place what wondrous events hath happed this Christmas Day?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hap
Noun
One false move can lead to trouble, and it hap-pens sooner or later to just about everybody who handles these reptiles. — Dr. C. E. Kuschel, Outdoor Life, 9 Apr. 2026 Looking for a slice of hap-Pi-ness? — Allison Kiehl, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2026 Check out his latest artwork, photos and adventures from the past, and current haps on his website Cory Richards Dot Com. — Outside Online, 3 Dec. 2025 The stars of 1989's hap-hap-happiest holiday comedy have kept busy since that dysfunctional dinner. — Madeline Boardman, EW.com, 16 Dec. 2024 The company didn’t appear close to understanding the nature of the universe, but per haps that’s coming. — Zoë Schiffer, WIRED, 14 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hap
  1. event
  2. luck
  3. quilt
  4. happen
  5. thing
  6. chance
  7. counterpane
  8. be
Noun
  • Several schools were competing at the track event when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Another aspect for King Charles and Prince William to consider is whether to fold the Sussexes into private family events – such as Easter in Windsor or Christmas at Sandringham.
    — Max Foster, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of event
Noun
  • Lan Larison had some hard luck with the rushing lanes he was given, but otherwise gave the offense no juice.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The Green Lantern, a secondary figure in the DC Comics pantheon, had the ill luck to be trapped in a 2011 Ryan Reynolds film even its director didn’t like.
    — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of luck
Noun
  • First, refresh your bedroom with a layerable quilt that can stay on your bed all year round.
    — Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Such projects usually consist of activities like writing letters to one’s children or making a quilt, not organ donation, but Eleanor had been thrilled by the idea.
    — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of quilt
Verb
  • Confession, but questions remain Precisely what happened after Berezovska, Reut and Zhykovych met by the highway is unclear — each of the two men have given their own version of the story.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The tinted windows looked out onto the courts where Richardson trained some of the best young female players in the Rio Grande Valley, but the glass was one-way, and from outside, nothing that happened in the room was visible.
    — Molly Hensley-Clancy, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of happen
Noun
  • There are few things more beautiful than the corona, the sun’s atmosphere, visible only during total solar eclipses like the one that occurred last week over a narrow swath of eastern Greenland, western Iceland and Spain.
    — Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
  • In the 1990s, few lawmakers under the Gold Dome had the ability to get things done like Walker.
    — Riley Bunch, AJC.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of thing
Noun
  • Historically, the ruling party in Nigeria's presidential elections usually has a higher chance of winning when the race features more than one prominent opposition candidate.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • But with races like the one in Alaska, the party sees an opportunity to improve its chances.
    — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of chance
Noun
  • Beneath wall text describing Báthory’s ghoulish crimes and her macabre punishment, bloody mannequins in nightshirts, one with its throat hideously cut, sprawl across a counterpane.
    — Sam Lipsyte, Harper’s Magazine , 27 Apr. 2022
Definition of counterpane
Verb
  • The benefit of different formats The average club pre-season lasts six weeks, so there is a lot to cram in — and a regular 90-minute friendly does not always allow all your players the necessary game time.
    — George Edwards, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • New York City — There is an ever-growing love story between the game of golf and basketball.
    — Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of be

Browse Nearby Words

hants
hap
haphazard
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Cite this Entry

“Hap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hap. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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