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

And over the past month, they’ve given the world our starkest understanding yet of what happens when AI goes wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

It is one thing to report on what happens to women like Tierra Walker.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

These include what went went wrong, what happens next, and - for opponents of the death penalty - fresh concerns around the suffering of an inmate when an execution does not go to plan.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

What has been less clear is why this happens and whether the vascular damage contributes directly to the disease.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

There is no argument about what happens next.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman