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

I don’t want to say too much about what happens, because it wouldn’t be as funny on paper as it is in motion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

How do they get there—wherever there happens to be—from episode 1 to episode 10?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

"It always happens in other markets. But I want to keep my good players. I'm looking forward more to signing new players rather than losing the ones we have here."

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

"And every time that happens, the star gets a little kick in the opposite direction. Like Newton said, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

This happens for almost twenty minutes until, eventually, I get frustrated.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold