happens

VERB

come to pass; occur

Synonyms

STRONGEST

appear arise arrive crop up develop fall go on hit materialize meet pass result take effect take place transpire

STRONG

befall betide bump chance down ensue eventuate follow issue light proceed recur shake smoke spring stumble supervene

WEAK

be found become a fact become known become of come about come after come into being come into existence come off luck present itself stumble upon turn out turn up what goes

Antonyms

STRONGEST

cease disappear fail halt lose stop

STRONG

precede

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:

happens

I am, as it happens, one of the main characters in the book.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

When it happens, she adds, “we encourage them to tell their child to come talk to us and we will walk them through it.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

To determine what happens without the protein, the researchers removed TRF2 from muscle stem cells in laboratory mice.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

“This situation happens more often than you might think. Being named as an executor doesn’t mean you’re locked into the role,” it says.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

This is exactly what happens, she thought, when you agree to play with somebody else.

From "Wolfie & Fly" by Cary Fagan