happen to
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
But the holiday does happen to be a great excuse to stock up on beauty essentials from Sheglam.
—
Tanya Sharma,
InStyle,
4 July 2026
Anything tragic that happened to minorities was inevitable and necessary.
—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2026
About 55% of injuries happen to people actively handling fireworks, and nearly a quarter of the injuries are to bystanders.
—
Stephen J. Beard,
USA Today,
3 July 2026
The bilingual advantage accrues to whoever happens to be inside that roughly 12-to-25 window when a technological rupture hits.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for happen to
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Tanya Sharma,
InStyle,
4 July 2026
Anything tragic that happened to minorities was inevitable and necessary.
—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2026
About 55% of injuries happen to people actively handling fireworks, and nearly a quarter of the injuries are to bystanders.
—
Stephen J. Beard,
USA Today,
3 July 2026
The bilingual advantage accrues to whoever happens to be inside that roughly 12-to-25 window when a technological rupture hits.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 July 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 5 Jul. 2026.
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