happened (on or upon)

verb

past tense of happen (on or upon)
as in found
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance happened on the filming of a movie

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for happened (on or upon)
  1. found
  2. encountered
Verb
  • PayJoy, founded by Doug Ricket, is transforming credit access in the global south, enabling millions to afford phones and invest in micro-businesses where traditional credit is scarce.
    — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 24 July 2026
  • Rinehart subsequently founded Save Our Teams, an advocacy organization designed to help athletes, parents and alumni mobilize when collegiate swimming programs land on the chopping block.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of found
Verb
  • The New Evidence also devotes time to the defense theory that Laci encountered the burglars who robbed the home of across-the-street neighbors Rudy and Susan Medina.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 18 July 2026
  • Later that morning, officers again encountered the van and surrounded it after its occupants allegedly attempted to flee a second time, Reitz said.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 17 July 2026
Definition of encountered
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.

Browse Nearby Words

happened (by)
happened (on or upon)
happened (upon)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Happened (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happened%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of itinerant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All