happen on

British

verb

(intr, preposition) to find by chance

I happened upon a five-pound note lying in the street

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

happen on

None of it has to happen on the timeline being forced on us now.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Did anything noteworthy happen on the Democratic side?

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

In the Austrian Alps, roughly three out of four hiking accidents happen on the descent.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

It may be ill-suited for socializing—one can guess that a very high percentage of listening will happen on headphones—but it’s an ideal companion for inner exploration, music that helps you think and dream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

This did not happen on nearby untreated areas.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023