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.

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

Investors are seeing this happen in the South Korea with Samsung and SK Hynix versus the rest of the market.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026

Under the terms of my contract, two things will happen:

From Salon • Jun. 1, 2026

And the transactions, she says, happen in secrecy.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

At least it didn’t happen in front of her.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

happen

Example Sentences

Related Words