happen

[hap-uhn] / ˈhæp ən /

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.

These are foundational building blocks of deliciousness, no less worthy because they happen to arrive in powdered form.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026

The signing on Tuesday didn’t happen in a public ceremony, and the final version of the executive order drew criticism.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026

Now it’s Nvidia’s turn to try to make Windows on Arm happen.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

His daughter dismissed the film they were watching early on, Allen explained, because she'd already got the gist of what was going to happen.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

It became more and more evident to Duane that nothing interesting was going to happen.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

happen

Example Sentences

Related Words