hap
noun
one's luck or lot.
hap
1 American
[hap]
/ hæp /
noun
-
one's luck or lot.
-
an occurrence, happening, or accident.
verb (used without object)
happed,
happing
hap
2
American
[hap, ap]
/ hæp, æp /
noun
verb (used with object)
Hap
3
American
[hahp, kh ahp]
/ hɑp, xɑp /
noun
Egyptian Religion.
hap
1
British
/ hæp /
noun
-
luck; chance
-
an occurrence
verb
hap
2
British
/ hæp /
verb
noun
Etymology
Origin of hap1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Old Norse happ “luck, chance”; akin to Old English gehæp “fit, convenient”; probably akin to Old Church Slavonic kobŭ “auspice,” Old Irish cob “victory”
Origin of hap2
1350–1400; Middle English happen to cover; perhaps blend of lappen lap 2 and Old French happer to seize
Vocabulary lists containing hap
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:
Ngheu and chem chap hap sa, steamed clams and mussels, come in a buttery lemongrass broth.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2022
How then had a man so singularly drained of hap as the 57-year-old Israeli ended up controlling Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham United?
From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2011
In Tallahassee, Fla., 16-year-old Harold Knowles, one of three Negroes to start classes at Leon High School, said: "I expected some friction, but nothing hap pened."
From Time Magazine Archive
Lady Slane is perfectly hap py, dies at just the right moment.
From Time Magazine Archive
When one has such a dream and the predicted event hap pens, it’s hard not to believe in precognition.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
CGS International maintains an overweight rating on Malaysia’s plantation sector and continues to favor upstream companies including TA Ann and Hap Seng Plantations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Lansdale makes a triumphant return to his Hap and Leonard novels with this scorcher.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
One hundred years ago this Thursday, goalie Hap Holmes and his exhausted Seattle Metropolitans were fighting to extend not only an epic overtime battle but their very franchise.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024
Hap accuses Mina of "putting words in his mouth" when he is just careless about what he says, or how he expresses himself.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2022
Hap Smith grunted and gave his attention forthwith and solely to the dexterous handling of his tugging reins.
From Six Feet Four by Gregory, Jackson
Local clan leader Mohamed Abdirahman described the attack as horrible, adding that such an atrocity had never happed in the region before.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2022
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said this week the president had chosen Feb. 16 as the patriotic holiday partly ironically, in response to media reports an invasion could happed on Wednesday.
From Reuters ● Feb. 16, 2022
Much of what happed during Mr. Trump’s meeting with Mr. Putin at a Group of 20 summit in Japan in 2019 isn’t known.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 28, 2021
"There's a big difference between with what happed with Jared and what happened with Chick-fil-A," said Carlton, who noted that Subway cut ties with Fogle.
From US News ● Aug. 19, 2015
Someone else happed him upside the head and everyone chuckled, but Magdalys could hear the nervousness creeping around the edges of their laughter.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
And I actually listen to what these professionals say, keeping all of my self-diagnoses and Googled explanations for what's happing to my body to myself.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2020
"It is heart-breaking what is happing in Libya," said one customer, who gave his name only as Ismael.
From Reuters ● Aug. 25, 2011
Ilk happing bird, wee helpless thing, That in the merry months o' spring, Delighted me to hear thee sing, What comes o' thee?
From Robert Burns by Shairp, John Campbell
Ilk happing bird, wee, helpless thing, That, in the merry months o’ spring, Delighted me to hear thee sing, What comes o’ thee?
From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Burns, Robert
Man after man fell out, and I saw the tears happing down their cheeks.
From The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
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.
