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

“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

Dahlia and Mark discuss what happens when popular constitutionalism is retrofitted as originalism, and why no constitutional win, no matter how popular, is ever truly permanent.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026

“What the agreement says matters. What happens next matters even more. Implementation and verification have to be real,” Nickolay Mladenov, the board’s chairman, said in a social-media statement praising the agreement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

"What happens next matters even more. Implementation and verification have to be real," Mladenov wrote on X.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

I still don’t know what happens when my time is up.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse