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
But as industry sprints toward artificial general intelligence (AGI), one question lingers in the background: what happens to humans?
—
Tracey Follows, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Turns out, Knox was just a dad in the gymnasium that day who happened to be in the right place at the right time and was smart enough to recognize that something was different about the sixth-grader in front of him.
—Grace Raynor, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
What happens to that mysterious traveller in time and space known as the Doctor?
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Apr. 2025
When partial remains were discovered by a hiker on Oct. 14, 2023, Stephens and a Georgia search and rescue team happened to be down the road looking for Cross when the call came in.
—Dawn Klavon, People.com, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happen to
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Tracey Follows, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Turns out, Knox was just a dad in the gymnasium that day who happened to be in the right place at the right time and was smart enough to recognize that something was different about the sixth-grader in front of him.
—Grace Raynor, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
What happens to that mysterious traveller in time and space known as the Doctor?
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Apr. 2025
When partial remains were discovered by a hiker on Oct. 14, 2023, Stephens and a Georgia search and rescue team happened to be down the road looking for Cross when the call came in.
—Dawn Klavon, People.com, 13 Apr. 2025
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 22 Apr. 2025.
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