as in to occur
to take place
did anything exciting happen over the summer?
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of happen
Instead, the researchers simply observed what happened naturally.
—
Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 1 July 2025
The universe is a happening place—full of exploding stars, erupting black holes, zipping asteroids, and much more.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 1 July 2025
The compression of the NBA Finals, draft and free agency cycles into a two-week sip from the firehose unfortunately necessitates that moves like this happen now.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 22 June 2025
The incident happened on Saturday, June 14, after a group of kids allegedly were playing with gasoline and lighting things on fire in Tremont City, Ohio, WHIO-TV, WDTN-TV and The Springfield News-Sun reported.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 22 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for happen
Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 1 July 2025
The universe is a happening place—full of exploding stars, erupting black holes, zipping asteroids, and much more.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 1 July 2025
The compression of the NBA Finals, draft and free agency cycles into a two-week sip from the firehose unfortunately necessitates that moves like this happen now.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 22 June 2025
The incident happened on Saturday, June 14, after a group of kids allegedly were playing with gasoline and lighting things on fire in Tremont City, Ohio, WHIO-TV, WDTN-TV and The Springfield News-Sun reported.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 22 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for happen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for happen
Verb
-
Preliminary information indicates that the shooting occurred after a dispute between two acquaintances, the release said.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
1 July 2025
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These moments all occur at different times, and the law doesn’t indicate which one, if any, counts.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
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While the Fourth of July is arguably the biggest cookout day of the year, there are still plenty of opportunities to enjoy spending time outside this summer.—
Rachel Trujillo,
People.com,
10 July 2025
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There is still a benefit to Levi playing in the AHL.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Wear comfortable shoes, as much of your exploring will probably be done on foot.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
10 July 2025
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Humanoid robots, because they are designed to mirror parts of the human body, have more axes—or joints—on them than many other form factors, like robotic arms or other AMRs do.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Happen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happen. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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