What does happen mean?
Definitions for happen
ˈhæp ənhap·pen
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word happen.
Princeton's WordNet
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"
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)
happenverb
chance to be or do something, without intention or causation
"I happen to have just what you need!"
happen, materialize, materialiseverb
come into being; become reality
"Her dream really materialized"
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"
Wiktionary
happenverb
To occur or take place.
Let me tell you how it happened.
happenverb
To occur unexpectedly, by chance or with a low probability.
Take an umbrella in case it happens to rain.
happenverb
To encounter by chance.
happenadverb
maybe, perhaps.
Etymology: From happenen
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
To Happenverb
Etymology: from hap.
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.
I have happened on some other accounts relating to mortalities. John Graunt, Bills of Mortality.
ChatGPT
happen
Happen means to occur or take place; an event or situation that takes place without being planned or expected.
Webster Dictionary
Happenverb
to come by chance; to come without previous expectation; to fall out
Happenverb
to take place; to occur
Etymology: [OE. happenen, hapnen. See Hap to happen.]
Editors Contribution
happen
To occur.
The creation of peace is happening as we speak all around the world.
Submitted by MaryC on February 16, 2020
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'happen' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1376
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'happen' in Written Corpus Frequency: #552
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'happen' in Verbs Frequency: #64
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of happen in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of happen in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of happen in a Sentence
People sometimes say that the way things happen in the movies is unreal, but actually it's the way things happen to you in life that's unreal. The movies make emotions look so strong and real, whereas when things really do happen to you, it's like watching television -- you don't feel anything.
I just don't know, you'll have to ask him that question. Look, I hope he's fine because I think it would be a shame. What he's saying is these things happen. It'd be nice if he said none of these things did happen. He's saying these things happen and therefore I have credibility. And what I'm saying is, I'd rather have them if they didn't happen. I don't want somebody who hit somebody in the face with a padlock.
Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.
We want to have that happen, it is hard to do that… Being successful is really, really difficult. A lot of things have to come together at the right moment for that to happen… It's going to happen. I genuinely believe that.
There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for happen
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- حدثArabic
- здарыццаBelarusian
- се случиBulgarian
- passar, ocórrer, succeirCatalan, Valencian
- indtræffe, ske, hændeDanish
- passieren, stattfinden, geschehenGerman
- τυγχάνω, διαδραματίζομαι, συμβαίνω, τυχαίνω, λαχαίνω, σημειώνομαιGreek
- okaziEsperanto
- suceder, pasar, ocurrirSpanish
- juhtuma, toimumaEstonian
- پیشامد کردنPersian
- käydä, sattua, tapahtuaFinnish
- se produire, se passer, advenir, arriverFrench
- tarlaighIrish
- tàrlaidh, tachair, turchairScottish Gaelic
- קָרָה, הָלַךְHebrew
- बीतनाHindi
- történikHungarian
- պատահելArmenian
- eventarIdo
- henda, verða, vilja til, bera viðIcelandic
- succedere, accadereItalian
- 起こる, 起るJapanese
- მოხდომაGeorgian
- 일어나다Korean
- fio, intercido, accido, eo, contingo, evenio, fieri, cadoLatin
- atsitikti, vykti, įvyktiLithuanian
- notikLatvian
- gebeurenDutch
- foregå, inntreffe, skjeNorwegian
- dziać się, zaistnieć, zdarzyć się, wydarzyć się, stać sięPolish
- acontecer, sucederPortuguese
- întâmpla, petreceRomanian
- состояться, происходить, произойти, случаться, случитьсяRussian
- dogoditiSerbo-Croatian
- stať saSlovak
- zgodíti seSlovene
- ndodhëAlbanian
- hända, ske, inträffa, äga rumSwedish
- tukiyoSwahili
- เกิดThai
- olmak, yer bulmak, meydana gelmekTurkish
- статисяUkrainian
- بیتناUrdu
- xảy đến, xảy raVietnamese
- jenönVolapük
- si passer, ariver, sorviniWalloon
- געשעןYiddish
- 發生Chinese
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"happen." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 1 Oct. 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/happen>.
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