happen

happen
hap|pen
W1S1 [ˈhæpən] v
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: hap ( HAPPY)]
1.) when something happens, there is an event, especially one that is not planned
= ↑occur
▪ When did the accident happen?
▪ It's impossible to predict what will happen next.
sth/nothing/anything happens
▪ Something terrible has happened.
▪ She carried on as if nothing had happened.
▪ This was bound to happen sooner or later.
▪ This kind of thing happens all the time .
▪ We'll still be friends, whatever happens .
2.) sth/anything/what happens to sb/sth
if something happens to someone or something, they are affected by an event
▪ He should be here by now - something must have happened to him.
▪ The same thing happened to me last year.
▪ What's happened to your coat? It's all ripped.
▪ What will happen to the collection now?
3.) happen to do sth
if you happen to do something, you do it by chance
▪ I happened to see James in town.
4.) sb/sth happens to be sth
used when telling someone something in an angry way
▪ This happens to be my house!
5.) as it happens/it just so happens
used to tell someone something that is surprising, interesting, or useful
▪ As it happens, I know someone who might be able to help you.
6.) these things happen
used to tell someone not to worry about a mistake they have made, an accident they have caused etc
▪ It's not your fault - these things happen.
7.) whatever happened to sb/sth?
used to ask where a person or thing is now
▪ Whatever happened to Steve? I haven't seen him for years.
→accidents (will) happen [i]at ↑accident
happen on/upon / [happen on/upon sb/sth] phr v
to find something or meet someone by chance
▪ I happened on the restaurant by chance.

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Happen — Happen …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • happen — vb Happen, chance, occur, befall, betide, transpire are comparable when they mean to come to pass or to come about. Happen is the ordinary and general term and may imply either obvious causation or seeming accident, either design or an absence of …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • happen — UK US /ˈhæpən/ verb [I] ► 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… …   Financial and business terms

  • happen — [hap′ən] vi. [ME happenen: see HAP1 & EN] 1. to take place; occur; befall 2. to be or occur by chance or without plan [it happened to rain] 3. to have the luck or occasion; chance [I happened to see it] …   English World dictionary

  • Happen — Hap pen (h[a^]p p n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Happened} ( p nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Happening}.] [OE. happenen, hapnen. See {Hap} to happen.] 1. To come by chance; to come without previous expectation; to fall out. [1913 Webster] There shall no evil… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • happen — ► VERB 1) take place; occur. 2) come about by chance. 3) (happen on) come across by chance. 4) chance to do something or come about. 5) (happen to) be experienced by. 6) ( …   English terms dictionary

  • happen by — ˈhappen a ˌlong ˈhappen ˌby [intransitive] [present tense I/you/we/they happen along he/she/it happens along …   Useful english dictionary

  • happen on — ˈhappen ˌon ˈhappen u ˌpon [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they happen on he/she/it happens on present participle happ …   Useful english dictionary

  • happen to sb — 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. Main Entry: ↑happen …   Financial and business terms

  • Happen — Sm std. (18. Jh.) Stammwort. Aus dem Niederdeutschen; ursprünglich eine Lautgebärde wie auch die Interjektion happ(s), also das Erschnappte . Etwas früher bezeugt ist nndl. happen schnappen ; es könnte aber viel älter sein und die Grundlage von… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • happen — index arise (occur), supervene Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

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