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happen

/ˈhæpən/verb2 syllables

Happen means: come to pass.

Synonyms for happen25

verb, as in come to pass

hap, go on, pass off, occur, pass, fall out, come about, take place

verb, as in come upon, as if by accident; meet with

find, chance, bump, encounter

verb, as in happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by chance

befall, bechance

verb, as in chance to be or do something, without intention or causation

befall, bechance

verb, as in come into being; become reality

materialize, materialise

also used for happen

come to pass, behap, belimp, betide, betime, beworth, crop up, evene, eventuate

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does happen mean?5

verb

1

come to pass“What is happening?”

2

come upon, as if by accident; meet with“We find this idea in Plato”

3

happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by chance“It happens that today is my birthday”

4

chance to be or do something, without intention or causation“I happen to have just what you need!”

5

come into being; become reality“Her dream really materialized”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Happen in a sentence

  • Were the earth to stop revolving, what do you suppose would happen?auxitt
  • Should anything happen in my absence, ask him for help.unknown
  • What will happen in the future, no one can tell.sundown
  • Should anything happen to you, let us know at once.CM
  • You wouldn't happen to know where she lives, would you?FeuDRenais
  • Sorry, would you happen to have a light?FeuDRenais
  • All that has happened before, and will happen again.saeb
  • I have always wanted to become a teacher, but it didn't happen.Eldad

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of happen

as a verb

past tense
happened
present participle
happening
third-person singular
happens
past participle
happened