Meaning of happen in English

happen

verb [ I ]

/ˈhæp.ən/ uk

/ˈhæp.ən/

happen verb [I] (HAVE EXISTENCE)

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(of a situation or an event) to have existence or come into existence:

No one knows exactly what happened but several people have been hurt.

Anything could happen in the next half hour.

A funny thing happened in the office today.

I don't want to think about what might have happened if he'd been driving any faster.

happen to someone/something

If something happens to someone or something, it has an effect on him, her, or it:

I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him (= if he was hurt, became ill, or died).

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It is frightening to think what might happen if she left him.
I cannot predict what will happen next year.
I could tell from her expression that something serious had happened.
The police showed him a photo to try to jog his memory about what had happened on the night of the robbery.
"Do you remember much about the accident?" "No, it all happened so suddenly."

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Occurring and happening

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happen verb [I] (CHANCE)

to do or be by chance:

happen to They happened to look (= looked by chance) in the right place almost immediately.

She happens to like cleaning (= she likes cleaning, although that is surprising).

I happen to think he's right (= I think so, although you may not).

it happens that Fortunately it happened that there was no one in the house at the time of the explosion.

it just so happens that It just so happens that I have her phone number right here (= luckily I have it).

as it happens As it happened (= although it was not planned), I had a few minutes to spare.

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On Sundays I just wear any old thing that I happen to find lying around.
Did she happen to mention whether she would be coming?
I just happened to be walking past when he came out of the store.
Jack happens to be a cousin of mine, so I'll introduce you to him.
Do you happen to know what time the next bus is due?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Chance and randomness

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Grammar

Happen

Happen means ‘occur’ and most commonly ‘occur by chance’: …

Phrasal verbs

happen along/by (somewhere)

happen on/upon something/someone

happen

adverb

UK Northern English

/ˈhæp.ən/ uk

/ˈhæp.ən/

perhaps:

Happen it'll rain later on.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Possible and probable

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(Definition of happen from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

happen | Intermediate English

happen

verb [ I ]

/ˈhæp·ən/

happen verb [I] (HAVE EXISTENCE)

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(of a situation or event) to come into existence; occur:

If you want to know what is happening in the world, you have to read the newspapers.

No one knows exactly what happened, but several people have been hurt.

If a situation or event happens to someone or something, it has an effect on that person or thing:

What happened to Phil? I thought he would be here by now.

happen verb [I] (CHANCE)

to do or be by chance:

[ + to infinitive ] I happened to come across this book I think you would like.

[ + to infinitive ] I happen to think he’s right (= I do, although others may not).

Phrasal verb

happen on/upon something/someone

(Definition of happen from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

happen | Business English

happen

verb [ I ]

/ˈhæpən/ us

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to exist or begin to exist because of an action, situation, or event:

The one course of events no one anticipated was the one that happened: a long period of stagnation that threatened the assumptions of the European welfare state.

The market highs have provided an impetus for companies to sell their shares before investors lose interest, which often happens during a holiday week.

to be done or exist by chance:

What happens in one country or region may not happen in another.

happen by accident/chance "The state's economic vitality has not happened by accident," he said.

happen to sb/sth

to affect someone or something in a way that changes something:

Everywhere I go people are becoming more and more depressed by what is happening to their savings.

happen overnight

to be done or come into existence suddenly:

did not/may not/will not happen overnight This crisis didn't happen overnight.

(Definition of happen from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of happen

happen

But who needs a memoir in print when it's happening live?

From TIME

If that's really what happens when viewers participate -- please, don't.

From USA TODAY

We might contact them to help us, but that hasn't happened.

From USA TODAY

Something terrible happened to you in outer space.

From WIRED

It would be a shame for that to happen here.

From ABC News

But what happens when one stacks up ultrathin layers on the order of one nanometer?

From Phys.Org

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of happen?