happen to
phrasal verb
happened to; happening to; happens to
: to affect or involve (someone or something) as the result of an event or action
An odd thing happened to me on my way to the office last week.
I wonder what/whatever happened to that guy after he lost his job.
especially
: to affect (someone or something) in a bad or harmful way
I promise nothing will happen to you.
What happened to the car? There's a big scratch on the fender.
Examples of happen to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And a number of them just happen to be dating — or engaged or married to — each other.
—
Rachel Treisman, NPR, 14 Feb. 2026
Meet Bad Bunny’s KC look-alike Crowned Bad Bunny look-alike was Nelson Jesus Rivera, who happens to be a musician himself, a drummer in a band.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2026
What interested me was the silence that follows – the way young people internalize what happens to them, especially in environments where difficult experiences are quickly normalized or brushed aside.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
This is exactly what happens to her once-triumphant protagonists.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for happen to
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Rachel Treisman, NPR, 14 Feb. 2026
Meet Bad Bunny’s KC look-alike Crowned Bad Bunny look-alike was Nelson Jesus Rivera, who happens to be a musician himself, a drummer in a band.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2026
What interested me was the silence that follows – the way young people internalize what happens to them, especially in environments where difficult experiences are quickly normalized or brushed aside.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
This is exactly what happens to her once-triumphant protagonists.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for happen to
Cite this Entry
“Happen to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happen%20to. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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