happen
Origin of happen
synonym study for happen
Words nearby happen
MORE ABOUT HAPPEN
What is a basic definition of happen?
Happen means to occur, to come to pass by chance, or to befall someone or something. Happen has several other senses as a verb.
Happen is a very general word that simply means to occur or take place. For example, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln happened on April 15, 1865. That date is when this event took place.
- Real-life examples: Halloween happens on October 31. Scientists run experiments to see what happens. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. History is a record of what happened in the past.
- Used in a sentence: The police blocked off the street where the car accident happened.
Happen also means to occur due to chance or take place without any planning or intent.
- Used in a sentence: Joe happened to be standing in the exact spot where the water balloon landed.
Happen is also used to mean to be on the receiving end of an event or action, particularly as a result of good or bad luck. This sense is usually written as “to happen to.”
- Used in a sentence: Sherri was terrified that something horrible had happened to her kitten.
In this sense, an event is sometimes called a happening, especially if it is unusual or interesting. A slang usage of happening is used to describe an event as exciting.
- Used in a sentence: Summer is usually busy with happenings like beach parties. Summertime is happening!
Where does happen come from?
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to happen?
- happening (noun, present tense verb)
What are some synonyms for happen?
What are some words that share a root or word element with happen?
What are some words that often get used in discussing happen?
How is happen used in real life?
Happen is an extremely common word that means to occur or take place.
I'd like to see a day when there was no news. None. Zilch. Zip. I'd turn on CNN and Brooke Baldwin would say, "Nothing happened today, so we're going to show a bunch of rock videos."
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 24, 2019
We walked by a house today that had a long pipe in the front yard labelled “candy chute” and the woman who lived there happened to be outside as we walked by and said “want to test it out?” and sent a little candy bar down it for my kid
— Anne Thériault (@anne_theriault) October 17, 2020
Seriously, what happened to Aerosmith in the 90's? Or what did the 90's do to them?
— Kris Williams (@KrisWilliams) October 10, 2010
Try using happen!
True or False?
If a boxing match happened in Chicago, it means that the fight took place in the city of Chicago.
How to use happen in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for happen
- another word for perhaps
- (as sentence modifier)happen I'll see thee tomorrow