happened
past form of “happen” — come to pass
An inflected form of happen · past form.
How often you will meet it
Rank 529 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 36,902 times across 155,370 chapters — 0.018% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 1,000 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
verb
- come to pass also: hap, go on, pass off, occur, pass, fall out What is happening?The meeting took place off without an incidence
- happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by chance also: befall, bechance It happens that today is my birthdayThese things befell
- chance to be or do something, without intention or causation I happen to have just what you need!
- come into being; become reality also: materialize, materialise Her dream really materialized
- come upon, as if by accident; meet with also: find, chance, bump, encounter We find this idea in PlatoI happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here
happened in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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But such a nice thing has happened.
Emily Fox-Seton · Frances Hodgson Burnett · Chapter 1
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Such a thing had never happened before.
Ethan Frome · Edith Wharton · Chapter 1
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What happened in the cafe last night?
The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1
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Two things worthy of record happened within a month; the one of lesser importance can be set down first.
The Hill: A Romance of Friendship · Horace Annesley Vachell · Chapter 1
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There he opened his eyes, looked anxiously at me, and asked who I was and what had happened to him?
An Egyptian Princess — Volume 07 · Georg Ebers · Chapter 1