happen
[ hap-uhn ]
/ ˈhæp ən /
verb (used without object)
Origin of happen
SYNONYMS FOR happen
1
betide.
Happen,
chance,
occur refer to the taking place of an event.
Happen, which originally denoted the taking place by hap or chance, is now the most general word for coming to pass:
Something has happened.
Chance suggests the accidental nature of an event:
It chanced to rain that day.
Occur is often interchangeable with
happen, but is more formal, and is usually more specific as to time and event:
His death occurred the following year.
Words nearby happen
haploscope,
haplosis,
haplostemonous,
haplotype,
haply,
happen,
happen by,
happen on,
happen-so,
happenchance,
happening
British Dictionary definitions for happen on (1 of 2)
happen on
happen upon
verb
(intr, preposition)
to find by chance
I happened upon a five-pound note lying in the street
British Dictionary definitions for happen on (2 of 2)
happen
/ (ˈhæpən) /
verb
(intr)
(of an event in time) to come about or take place; occur
(intr foll by to)
(of some unforeseen circumstance or event, esp death), to fall to the lot (of); be a source of good or bad fortune (to)
if anything happens to me, it'll be your fault
(tr)
to chance (to be or do something)
I happen to know him
(tr; takes a clause as object)
to be the case, esp if by chance, that
it happens that I know him
adverb, sentence substitute
Northern English dialect
- another word for perhaps
- (as sentence modifier)happen I'll see thee tomorrow
Word Origin for happen
C14: see
hap
1,
-en
1
undefined happen
See
occur