happen
Americanverb (used without object)
-
happens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
happened,
past participle, past
-
happening
present participle
-
to take place; come to pass; occur.
Something interesting is always happening in New York.
- Synonyms:
- betide
-
to come to pass by chance; occur without apparent reason or design.
Don't ask me what caused it—it just happened, that's all.
-
to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified); chance.
I happened to see him on the street.
-
to befall, as to a person or thing.
Something dreadful has happened to me.
-
to meet or discover by chance (usually followed by on orupon ).
to happen on a clue to a mystery.
-
to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance.
My friend happened along.
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Slang. to be very exciting or interesting.
That party was happening!
verb
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(intr) (of an event in time) to come about or take place; occur
-
(of some unforeseen circumstance or event, esp death), to fall to the lot (of); be a source of good or bad fortune (to)
if anything happens to me, it'll be your fault
-
(tr) to chance (to be or do something)
I happen to know him
-
(tr; takes a clause as object) to be the case, esp if by chance, that
it happens that I know him
adverb
Usage
What is a basic definition of happen? Happen means to occur, to come to pass by chance, or to befall someone or something. Happen has several other senses as a verb. Happen is a very general word that simply means to occur or take place. For example, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln happened on April 15, 1865. That date is when this event took place.
- Real-life examples: Halloween happens on October 31. Scientists run experiments to see what happens. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. History is a record of what happened in the past.
- Used in a sentence: The police blocked off the street where the car accident happened.
- Used in a sentence: Joe happened to be standing in the exact spot where the water balloon landed.
- Used in a sentence: Sherri was terrified that something horrible had happened to her kitten.
- Used in a sentence: Summer is usually busy with happenings like beach parties. Summertime is happening!
Synonym Usage
Happen, chance, occur refer to the taking place of an event. Happen, which originally denoted the taking place by hap or chance, is now the most general word for coming to pass: Something has happened. Chance suggests the accidental nature of an event: It chanced to rain that day. Occur is often interchangeable with happen, but is more formal, and is usually more specific as to time and event: His death occurred the following year.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
happensimple
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happenssimple
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have happenedperfect
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has happenedperfect
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am happeningprogressive
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are happeningprogressive
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is happeningprogressive
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have been happeningperfect progressive
-
has been happeningperfect progressive
Past
-
happenedsimple
-
had happenedperfect
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was happeningprogressive
-
were happeningprogressive
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had been happeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of happen
First recorded in 1300–50, happen is from the Middle English word hap(pe)nen. See hap 1, -en 1
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.
See Examples For:
“Everyone wants low rates, they never want what comes with it. You know what’ll happen if rates come down? There will be no houses for sale.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
Much remains to be done to make that happen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
"That's not going to happen," he said, when asked if he was going to walk away.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
A belief that "stability can happen by just investing in power and the status quo", she said, "is the wrong bet".
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
“Allowing something like that to happen under my supervision. Not properly disciplining Louisa for her indiscretion. And Louisa couldn’t come forward because she—because.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
The question is: How do we protect my partner, me and my kids to make sure if something happens to one of us that everyone is protected?
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
In their latest research, Comisso and Asenjo investigated what happens when the ideal conditions that normally preserve connections within gravitational field structures no longer hold.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026
“We know last night frightened our neighbors. No matter what happens outside our doors, everyone who comes inside is our patient, and our focus will only be on that patient, and it will not change.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
Just as with the teams, though, they can work to the best of their ability but they cannot control what happens outside.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
I would read to him, and we’d look at the pictures and diagrams, and he’d say, “Ehennn! So that’s why so-and-so happens the way it does!” and ask questions I couldn’t answer.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
"The circumstances surrounding this tragic incident, which has deeply saddened our nation, including how and why it happened, whether there was any negligence and who bears responsibility, will be established," Erdogan said on television.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
Jerkin’ was what happened when you used asphalt as your dance floor and your hometown as your playground, proving the city is a place of alchemy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
James McConnell, an officer, told RTE News the group were on a city break and were close to the main square, external when the shooting happened.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
You are on camera and you are retelling the story of what happened.
From Slate ● Nov. 8, 2026
When I get home, everyone knows what happened at school.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"What we simply try to do is make sure our young people understand what's happening is wrong."
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026
"The space has become deserted, as independent media. Nobody was there to report about what was really happening."
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
Mr. Garcia told me that’s somewhat already happening: “In some states, Lemonade now cuts its insurance rate in half for the miles a Tesla drives on Full Self-Driving.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026
“That has required subtle changes to a more service-oriented business model. This isn’t happening all at once — it’s been happening slowly.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 8, 2026
The spinning wheel vibrated when I put my foot on the treadle, like it knew something bad was happening.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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