happen
$ \mathrm{happen}
/ˈhæpən/
1 intransitive to take place, especially without being planned You'll never guess what's happened!
Accidents like this happen all the time.
The most recent incident happened only a week ago.
The government has denied that the events ever happened.
Change doesn't happen overnight.
You have to make things happen.
Let's see what happens next week.
I'll be there whatever happens.
No matter what happens, he's going to pay for what he's done.
Is this really happening or is it a dream?
This would never happen in real life.
I don't know how this happened.
I try to keep up with what is happening in the world.
Collocations
adverb
actuallyreallyjust…
verb + happen
be going tobe likely tobe bound to…
preposition
to
She pressed the button but nothing happened.
What happens if nobody comes to the party?
Just plug it in and see what happens.
3 transitive happen to be/do something to do or be something by chance She happened to be out when we called.
You don't happen to know his name, do you?
This happens to be my favourite restaurant.
The door happened to be unlocked.
it happens that… It happened that she was out when we called.
4 transitive happen to be/do something used to tell somebody something, especially when you are disagreeing with them or annoyed by what they have said That happens to be my mother you're talking about!
Idioms
a thing or person that is very likely to cause danger or a problem in the future because of the condition it is in or the way they behave
Any one of these nuclear plants may be a disaster waiting to happen.
TOPICS DangerC2
people say accidents will happen to tell somebody who has had an accident, for example breaking something, that it does not matter and they should not worry
used to say that it is not possible to know what the result of something will be
Phrasal Verbs
Word Origin
late Middle English (superseding the verb hap): from the noun hap ‘chance’ + -en.