happens

verb

(intransitive) To occur or take place.

(intransitive or impersonal, with infinitive) To do or occur by chance or unexpectedly.

(followed by on or upon) To encounter by chance.

(informal) To become popular or trendy.

(transitive, archaic) To happen to; to befall.

adverb

(obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps.

Roots

happhapp- · Old Norse · chance, luck

Synonyms & related words for happens

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of happens. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to happens

Explore words related to happens — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include bechance, occur, befall, happening, happened, transpires, hap, materialize. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does happens come from?

The word happens breaks down into one root of Old Norse origin: the root happ-, from Old Norse happ (“chance, luck”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.