happens (upon)

verb

present tense third-person singular of happen (upon)
as in encounters
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face happened upon the hotel manager in the lobby and promptly complained about the room

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for happens (upon)
  1. encounters
  2. meets
Verb
  • The agent encounters its own limitations, its own failure modes, its own unexpected strengths.
    — John Werner, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • The players in this year’s final will all know each other well from La Liga encounters — 24 of the 52 across both squads feature for Spanish clubs (18 for Spain and six for Argentina).
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of encounters
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Tony meets the Flagship chef again, this time on less hostile terms.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 July 2026
  • Utah prosecutors are turning up the heat on Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, arguing that the evidence against him easily meets the standard required to send the case to trial.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of meets
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

happenstances
happens (upon)
happen (upon)
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Cite this Entry

“Happens (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happens%20%28upon%29. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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