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

But it’s not going to happen on her accounting clerk salary at Purina, let alone Floyd’s meager earnings.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

"Seeing it happen on this timescale within a single molecular vibration is extraordinary," said Dr. Ghosh.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

In movies, terrible haywire things always happen on people’s last night places.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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