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

"Something happens when you qualify. It's flicking a switch in mentality - it becomes something realistic and achievable," she adds.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

What happens is, for a lot of people, you get a gut feeling, and then you try and reason with it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

"When this happens, we can either go our own ways, or come together, and it's joining up that always leads to the best science," said Hamberger.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Birmingham added that SpaceX’s earnings will not just be communicating to investors about what happens in the second half of 2026, but “where the right capital raise is and for what price.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

“And what happens if you don’t push it back? What if you let it overwhelm you?”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff