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happen by

British  

verb

  1. informal (intr, adverb) to appear, arrive, or come casually or by chance

"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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A group of 10 recently opened accounts had bet thousands of dollars on Polymarket’s “US x Iran cease-fire” market, betting that a cease-fire would happen by March 31 or April 15.

From MarketWatch

The finding is a shift from past U.S. warnings that an invasion could happen by 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal

These events do not happen by accident.

From BBC

The Fed’s main interest-rate target now sits between 3.5% and 3.75% and, if there is a rate cut, traders now mostly expect that to happen by December.

From MarketWatch

That journey can happen in your own town and, sure, it can happen by taking vacations.

From MarketWatch

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.