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

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

Last week, Croke Park stadium chief executive Peter McKenna suggested a long-awaited fight for Taylor at the 82,000-capacity home of Gaelic games could happen on a card shared with Tyson Fury.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

“It may happen on a case-by-case basis because an officer in and of himself has humanity,” he said.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

Updates to drone tech don’t happen on a timetable of years; in Ukraine, it’s every few weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

The much anticipated showdown between powerhouses Etiwanda and Sierra Canyon will happen on Tuesday night at Etiwanda in the Southern Section Open Division semifinals.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

If I did happen on a bear, I would be quite helpless.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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