happened

VERB

come to pass; occur

Synonyms

STRONGEST

appear arise arrive crop up develop fall go on hit materialize meet pass result take effect take place transpire

STRONG

befall betide bump chance down ensue eventuate follow issue light proceed recur shake smoke spring stumble supervene

WEAK

be found become a fact become known become of come about come after come into being come into existence come off luck present itself stumble upon turn out turn up what goes

Antonyms

STRONGEST

cease disappear fail halt lose stop

STRONG

precede

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Prosecutors accused him of sharing national defense information with people—reportedly his wife and daughter—who helped him with his aforementioned memoir, The Room Where It Happened.

From Slate • Jun. 26, 2026

Performed in rotation with “New Born” is Tom Noonan’s “What Happened Was . . . ,” a 1992 two-hander, also directed by Mr. Rickson, about a nervous date night.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Once he found the guitar, he soon began playing in various bands and released his debut album Whatever Happened To Benny Santini? in 1978.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025

Satisfying their day one fans, the Clipse also performed a handful of their classic records like “Mr. Me Too” and “What Happened to That Boy.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

I pulled Stuff That Happened to Me from the space between the bed and the wall, and I flipped through it for a while, wishing that I would finally fall asleep.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer