happen
Use Happen in a sentence
ən verb (used without object)
1.
to take place; come to pass; occur: Something interesting is always happening in New York.
2.
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.
3.
to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified); chance: I happened to see him on the street.
4.
to befall, as to a person or thing: Something dreadful has happened to me.
5.
to meet or discover by chance (usually followed by on or upon ): to happen on a clue to a mystery.
Synonyms
1. betide. 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.
1. betide. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Happen
00:10
Happen
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to bark; yelp. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
happen (ˈhæpən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (foll by to) | |
| 1. | (intr) (of an event in time) to come about or take place; occur |
| 2. | (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 |
| 3. | (tr) to chance (to be or do something): I happen to know him |
| 4. | (tr; takes a clause as object) to be the case, esp if by chance, that: it happens that I know him |
| —adv, —sentence substitute | |
| 5. | dialect (Northern English) |
| a. another word for perhaps | |
| b. (as sentence modifier): happen I'll see thee tomorrow | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
happen
c.1300, happenen "to come to pass, occur," originally "occur by hap" (see hap); replaced O.E. gelimpan, gesceon, and M.E. befall. First record of happenstance is 1897, formed from happening + circumstance. Happening in the sense of "spontaneous event or display" is from 1959.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
He says all this will happen in the next two to three weeks.
If you take an individualistic view of the world, not much would happen immediately.
Meanwhile, the oil industry is already getting to grips with the question of what to do if such a thing should happen again.
For instance, he writes that simply accepting that bad things will happen and facing problems head-on can alleviate anxiety.
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