verb
happen
HA-puhn
verb
1
To take place; to occur.
"Nobody knows exactly what happened during the meeting."
"Strange things tend to happen after midnight in that old house."
2
To do something by chance, or to encounter something unexpectedly.
"I happened to see her at the station this morning."
"We happened upon a great little restaurant while walking around."
How to Use Happen
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishFor an event to take place, or to do something without planning it.
Common mistake
"Happen to" + verb means "by chance" ("I happened to notice"), which is different from "happen to" + noun/pronoun meaning "occur to" ("What happened to my phone?").
Common pairings
happen to someone
happen upon
what happened
Word Forms
happened past tense, happens singular
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Etymology
From Middle English happenen, built from hap ("chance, occurrence") plus the verb-forming suffix -en.