1. to take place; come to pass; occur. 2. to come to pass by chance; occur without apparent reason or design. 3. to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified); chance: I happened to see him on the street. 4. to befall, as to a person or thing: Don't worry; nothing happened to her. If a situation or event happens to someone or something, it has an effect on that person or thing: The meaning of HAPPEN is to occur by chance —often used with it. How to use happen in a sentence. Find 54 different ways to say HAPPENS, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com. “What is happening?” “I happen to have just what you need!” Happen. Vocabulary.com Dictionary, Vocabulary.com, . Accessed 8 June 2026. loading examples. Discover the word HAPPEN in English: definitions, translations, synonyms, pronunciations, examples, and grammar insights - all in one complete resource. What is a basic definition of happen? Happen means to occur, to come to pass by chance, or to befall someone or something. Happen has several other senses as a verb. Happen is a very general word that simply means to occur or take place. For example, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln happened on April 15, 1865. happen (third-person singular simple present happens, present participle happening, simple past and past participle happened) (intransitive) To occur or take place. “Happens” is the correct spelling of the word. “Happens” is used with the third person singular for the verb “to happen”. This type of stuff happens from time to time. as it happens/happened used when you say something that is surprising, or something connected with what somebody else has just said I agree with you, as it happens. As it happens, I have a spare set of keys in my office.