Definitions for happen
ˈhæp ənhap·pen

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. happen, hap, go on, pass off, occur, pass, fall out, come about, take placeverb

   come to pass

   "What is happening?"; "The meeting took place off without an incidence"; "Nothing occurred that seemed important"

2. happen, befall, bechanceverb

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

   "It happens that today is my birthday"; "These things befell" (Santayana)

3. happenverb

   chance to be or do something, without intention or causation

   "I happen to have just what you need!"

4. happen, materialize, materialiseverb

   come into being; become reality

   "Her dream really materialized"

5. find, happen, chance, bump, encounterverb

   come upon, as if by accident; meet with

   "We find this idea in Plato"; "I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here"; "She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. happenverb

   To occur or take place.

   Let me tell you how it happened.

2. happenverb

   To occur unexpectedly, by chance or with a low probability.

   Take an umbrella in case it happens to rain.

3. happenverb

   To encounter by chance.

4. happenadverb

   maybe, perhaps.

5. Etymology: From happenen

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To Happenverb

   Etymology: from hap.

   1. To fall out; to chance; to come to pass.

   Bring forth your strong reasons, and shew us what shall happen. Is. xl. 22.

   Say not I have sinned, and what harm hath happened unto me. Ecclus. v. 4.

   If it so fall out that thou art miserable for ever, thou hast no reason to be surprized, as if some unexpected thing had happened to thee. John Tillotson, Sermons.

   2. To light; to fall by chance.

   I have happened on some other accounts relating to mortalities. John Graunt, Bills of Mortality.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. happen

   Happen means to occur or take place; an event or situation that takes place without being planned or expected.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Happenverb

   to come by chance; to come without previous expectation; to fall out

2. Happenverb

   to take place; to occur

3. Etymology: [OE. happenen, hapnen. See Hap to happen.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. happen

   To occur.

   The creation of peace is happening as we speak all around the world.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 16, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Chance
   • Happen

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'happen' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1376

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'happen' in Written Corpus Frequency: #552

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'happen' in Verbs Frequency: #64

How to pronounce happen?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say happen in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of happen in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of happen in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of happen in a Sentence

1. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter:

   The additions that we've made to the protocol simply add more checks and balances, more safeguards, to the system to ensure that what happened in the past won't happen again.

2. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali:

   They are not occupying as a military force in Somalia, it's impossible. We are fierce fighters, we will never allow that to happen.

3. Joe Biden:

   And for three hours, the defeated former President of the United States watched it all happen as he sat in the comfort of the private dining room next to the Oval Office. While he was doing that, brave law enforcement officers were subject to the medieval hell for three hours, dripping in blood, surrounded by carnage.

4. Christopher Grundler:

   What matters to the EPA is compliance where the spirit of laws is respected rather than just the text of the law. I absolutely want to hear from VW what their efforts to this end look like and how they make sure that such a thing (like the emissions scandal) will never happen again.

5. Kira Conard:

   For a man that would never meet me to give me basically a full ride to college, that's incredible. That doesn't happen.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=happen
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Happen
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=happen
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happen