happen

UK /ˈhæpən/ US /ˈhæpən/

verb 5adv 1

Definitions

verb

To occur or take place.

Let me tell you how it happened.

Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.

To happen to; to befall.

'By my soul! I believe something bad has happened me,' he muttered, and popped up his window, and looked out, half dreaming over the church-yard on the park beyond […]

To do or occur by chance or unexpectedly.

Take an umbrella in case it happens to rain.

Do you happen to have an umbrella?

To encounter by chance.

Unexpectedly, in a nook close by the farmhouse, he happened upon a spot where the vintage had actually commenced.

To become popular or trendy.

adv

maybe, perhaps.

Yeah, well happen if he'd gone quietly, she wouldn't have needed to show him who's in charge.

Collocations

(verb.)

ADV

actually, really

I didn't expect the accident to happen so quickly, but it really did.

just

My phone fell in the pool, but it just happened to land on the floating mat.

spontaneously

The best conversations with my friends happen spontaneously when we meet for coffee.

overnight

Learning a new language doesn't happen overnight, so be patient with yourself.

VERB + HAPPEN

be going to

I need to create a new sentence showing "be going to" + "happen" in everyday English. No one knows what is going to happen when the new manager arrives tomorrow.

be likely to

be bound to

If you drive in heavy rain, accidents are bound to happen.

tend to

When people get tired, they tend to happen upon mistakes in their work.

want sth to

make sth

If you want to succeed, you have to make opportunities happen rather than waiting for them.

let sth

If you don't study hard, you'll let your grades happen by accident.

PREP

A terrible accident happened to my neighbor last week while he was driving home.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

verb — come to pass

verb — come into being

materialize
materialise

verb — happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by

verb — come upon, as if by accident

Antonyms

dematerialize
dematerialise

Idioms & Phrases

couldn't happen to a nicer

Sarcastically asserts that those in question thoroughly deserve their fate.

So the CEO of ScamCo is going to prison? Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

accident waiting to happen

A thing or situation which is almost certain to eventually lead to an accident.

Someone needs to repair that worn-out old bridge. It's an accident waiting to happen!

happen along

To arrive by chance; to occur by happenstance.

"Now, if a rattling good earthquake were to happen along, you might awake in the morning to find yourself on an island, or even under water."

worse things happen at sea

Things are not as bad as they seem.

Some people console themselves with the thought that, basically, worse things happen at sea: in middle-class Britain today, particularly familied fortysomethings, it’s Chicken-Lick

accidents will happen in the best regulated families

Accidents will always happen, even where there is an expectation of success.

In spite of all precautions, accidents will happen in the best regulated families, and wolves steal in, in the fleeces of Merinos.

Example Bank

Let me tell you how it happened.

Wiktionary

Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.

Wiktionary

'By my soul! I believe something bad has happened me,' he muttered, and popped up his window, and looked out, half dreaming over the church-yard on the park beyond […]

Wiktionary

Yeah, well happen if he'd gone quietly, she wouldn't have needed to show him who's in charge.

Wiktionary

That won't happen.

Tatoeba · #1302

Let's consider the worst that could happen.

Tatoeba · #1353

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, happen is marked as archaic, informal, obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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