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

That led Phil Lyman, a Republican and gubernatorial candidate in faraway Utah, to chime in with an attack on Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who also, yes, happens to be Black. —Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025

As Pete recalls events that happened to him, to people around him or to relatives, the intimate reminiscences meet the macro, touching on the impact of residential schools, land claims by greedy companies and the disproportionate incarceration of First Nations individuals. —Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 1 Feb. 2025

In fact, there might be three other people in that seminar and one happens to be … Senator Cal Bradford. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2025

This has been seen all throughout wrestling, with the most recent example happening to Hulk Hogan on the Netflix premiere of Raw. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025