happen — vb Happen, chance, occur, befall, betide, transpire are comparable when they mean to come to pass or to come about. Happen is the ordinary and general term and may imply either obvious causation or seeming accident, either design or an absence of … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Happen — Hap pen (h[a^]p p n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Happened} ( p nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Happening}.] [OE. happenen, hapnen. See {Hap} to happen.] 1. To come by chance; to come without previous expectation; to fall out. [1913 Webster] There shall no evil… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
happen\ on — • happen (up)on v literary To meet or find accidentally or by chance. The Girl Scouts happened on a charming little brook not far from the camp. At the convention I happened upon an old friend I had not seen for years. Syn.: chance on, come… … Словарь американских идиом
happen\ upon — • happen (up)on v literary To meet or find accidentally or by chance. The Girl Scouts happened on a charming little brook not far from the camp. At the convention I happened upon an old friend I had not seen for years. Syn.: chance on, come… … Словарь американских идиом
had a shock — had an unexpected and disturbing thing happen … English contemporary dictionary
happen — verb (I) 1 if an event or situation happens, it exists and continues for a period of time, especially without being planned first: The accident happened early on Tuesday morning. | No one knew who had fired the gun it all happened so quickly. |… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
happen — [14] Surprisingly for such a common verb, happen is a comparatively recent addition to the English language. Old English had a number of verbs denoting ‘occurrence’, all long since defunct, including gelimpan and gescēon, and in the 13th century… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
happen — [[t]hæ̱pən[/t]] ♦ happens, happening, happened 1) VERB Something that happens occurs or is done without being planned. We cannot say for sure what will happen... The accident happened close to Martha s Vineyard. 2) VERB If something happens, it… … English dictionary
happen — verb 1) remember what happened last time he was here Syn: occur, take place, come about; ensue, result, transpire, materialize, arise, crop up, come up, present itself, supervene; informal go down; formal eventuate; literary come to pass, betide… … Thesaurus of popular words
happen — [14] Surprisingly for such a common verb, happen is a comparatively recent addition to the English language. Old English had a number of verbs denoting ‘occurrence’, all long since defunct, including gelimpan and gescēon, and in the 13th century… … Word origins
