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.

The Health Care Agency also said that the planned move of neutralized MMA from GKN Aerospace’s storage tanks didn’t happen on Thursday and Friday, and will be rescheduled.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

At one point in the Temple of Heaven standoff, an official could be heard talking about what would happen on that trip.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

But, following a rollercoaster two years during which she feared her time in the sport might be over, it will only happen on her terms, when she is ready.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 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

The way I see it, things happen on 145th Street that don’t happen anywhere else in the world.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers

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