happen
Americanverb (used without object)
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happens,
present (3rd person singular)
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happened,
past participle, past
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happening
present participle
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to take place; come to pass; occur.
Something interesting is always happening in New York.
- Synonyms:
- betide
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to come to pass by chance; occur without apparent reason or design.
Don't ask me what caused it—it just happened, that's all.
-
to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified); chance.
I happened to see him on the street.
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to befall, as to a person or thing.
Something dreadful has happened to me.
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to meet or discover by chance (usually followed by on orupon ).
to happen on a clue to a mystery.
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to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance.
My friend happened along.
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Slang. to be very exciting or interesting.
That party was happening!
verb
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(intr) (of an event in time) to come about or take place; occur
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(of some unforeseen circumstance or event, esp death), to fall to the lot (of); be a source of good or bad fortune (to)
if anything happens to me, it'll be your fault
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(tr) to chance (to be or do something)
I happen to know him
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(tr; takes a clause as object) to be the case, esp if by chance, that
it happens that I know him
adverb
Usage
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.
- Used in a sentence: Joe happened to be standing in the exact spot where the water balloon landed.
- Used in a sentence: Sherri was terrified that something horrible had happened to her kitten.
- Used in a sentence: Summer is usually busy with happenings like beach parties. Summertime is happening!
Synonym Usage
Happen, chance, occur refer to the taking place of an event. Happen, which originally denoted the taking place by hap or chance, is now the most general word for coming to pass: Something has happened. Chance suggests the accidental nature of an event: It chanced to rain that day. Occur is often interchangeable with happen, but is more formal, and is usually more specific as to time and event: His death occurred the following year.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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happensimple
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happenssimple
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have happenedperfect
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has happenedperfect
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am happeningprogressive
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are happeningprogressive
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is happeningprogressive
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have been happeningperfect progressive
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has been happeningperfect progressive
Past
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happenedsimple
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had happenedperfect
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was happeningprogressive
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were happeningprogressive
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had been happeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of happen
First recorded in 1300–50, happen is from the Middle English word hap(pe)nen. See hap 1, -en 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The next will be Ohtani’s return to pitching, which could happen as soon as this weekend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Researchers would need to move beyond strictly linear models and examine processes that happen simultaneously, influence one another, and change as a person interacts with the surrounding world.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
"That is never going to happen for a start," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Tax Court, which weighs in on disputes between taxpayers and the IRS, routinely issues decisions about when businesses are allowed to deduct expenses that also happen to seem like a lot of fun.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
“No? What do you mean? No, it’s not going to happen? Or just no, not yet?”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Once this happens, the original arrangement cannot be restored.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
To address a conflict, you must determine the right size and structure for a meeting upfront; 90% of the success of a meeting happens before people even enter the room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
What matters most is what happens after you hand the property back — in the event that you do — including whether your mother survives the transfer for more than one year.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
What leverage does Canada, which sells about 70% of its goods to the US, actually have in this spiralling trade dispute with its southern neighbour, who also happens to be the world's largest economy?
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
"What if it takes six weeks? Two months, the vet says. What happens then?"
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Police are urging the public to come forward with any information they might have about the theft, which they said happened "earlier this year" but was only reported to them on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Robles told parliament that agents of the CNI intelligence service had shared information about a possible imminent migrant crossing with security forces shortly before it happened, but Grande-Marlaska appeared to contradict her.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
A lot has happened since then, with millions of albums sold, world tours and, yes, they did lead the next generation with their harder-edged sound paving the way for acts like Ateez and Stray Kids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
“What happened in East Palestine was catastrophic,” U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Oh, a lot happened, a whole lifetime of happenings. But I think I shall keep it short. I am suddenly rather tired. And you must be too. Well, here is how the story ends…”
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Wildfires have been described to me as an "intermittent problem" because they're seasonal and we don't see large ones happening every year.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
After a while, it felt like the road’s official policy: Whatever strange, painful, beautiful thing was happening to you is part of the journey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Historic gardens are "really on the front line of climate change", said Drew Bennellick, the Heritage Fund's head of lands, seas and nature policy, and "the changes are happening actually quite quickly now".
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
In order to understand what is happening in the bond market, you need to look at table 1.1 in the latest “Budget and Economic Outlook” from the independent Congressional Budget Office.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
She complains a little, but she seems to realize that something bad is happening.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
