Dictionary.com Unabridged
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.
EXPAND6.to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance: My friend happened along.
7.Slang. to be very exciting or interesting: That party was happening!
COLLAPSE
Origin: 1300–50; Middle English hap(
pe)
nen. See hap1, -en1 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.
Collins
World English Dictionary
| happening (ˈhæpənɪŋ, ˈhæpnɪŋ) |
| |
| —n |
| 1. | an occurrence; event |
| 2. | an improvised or spontaneous display or performance consisting of bizarre and haphazard events |
| |
| —adj |
| 3. | informal fashionable and up-to-the-minute |
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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Slang Dictionary
happening definition
- mod.
fashionable; trendy; positive. (Collegiate.) : Wow, that's happening!
- n.
an event. : The concert was a real happening.
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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