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⇱ happening - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

happening

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈhæpənɪŋ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈhæpənɪŋ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(hap′ə ning)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hap•pen•ing /ˈhæpənɪŋ/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. an occurrence or event, esp. one considered important:an important happening that affected everyone.
See -hap-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hap•pen•ing  (hap′ə ning),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. something that happens;
    occurrence;
    event.
  2. an unconventional dramatic or artistically orchestrated performance, often a series of discontinuous events involving audience participation.
  3. any event considered worthwhile, unusual, or interesting.
  • 1545–55; 1965–70 for def. 2; happen + -ing1
    1. . incident, episode, instance, affair, case.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
happening /ˈhæpənɪŋ; ˈhæpnɪŋ/ n
  1. an occurrence; event
  2. an improvised or spontaneous display or performance consisting of bizarre and haphazard events
 adj
  1. informal fashionable and up-to-the-minute
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hap•pen /ˈhæpən/USA pronunciation   v. 
  1. to take place;
    come to pass;
    occur:[no object]What happened after the accident?
  2. to come to pass by chance:[not: be + ~-ing;It + ~ + (that) clause]It just happened that a policeman was nearby.
  3. to have the fortune or luck (to do something):[not: be + ~-ing;~ + to + verb]happened to see him there.
  4. to damage or be damaging to (a person or thing):[~ + to + object]Nothing happened to her.
  5. to meet, find, or discover by chance:[~ + on/upon + object]to happen upon a clue to a mystery.
  6. to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance:[~ + along]happened along just in time.
See -hap-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hap•pen  (hap′ən),USA pronunciation v.i. 
  1. to take place;
    come to pass;
    occur:Something interesting is always happening in New York.
  2. to come to pass by chance;
    occur without apparent reason or design:Don't ask me what caused it--it just happened, that's all.
  3. to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified);
    chance:I happened to see him on the street.
  4. to befall, as to a person or thing:Something dreadful has happened to me.
  5. to meet or discover by chance (usually fol. by on or upon):to happen on a clue to a mystery.
  6. to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance:My friend happened along.
  7. [Slang.]to be very exciting or interesting:That party was happening!
  • Middle English hap(pe)nen. See hap1, -en1 1300–50
    1. betide. Happen, chance, occur refer to the taking place of an event. Happen, which originally denoted the taking place by hap or chance, is now the most general word for coming to pass:Something has happened.Chance suggests the accidental nature of an event:It chanced to rain that day.Occur is often interchangeable with happen, but is more formal, and is usually more specific as to time and event:His death occurred the following year.
happen, +v.i. 
  1. [Slang.]to be very exciting or interesting:That party was happening!

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
happen /ˈhæpən/ vb
  1. (intransitive) (of an event in time) to come about or take place; occur
  2. (intransitive) followed by to: (of some unforeseen circumstance or event, esp death), to fall to the lot (of); be a source of good or bad fortune (to): if anything happens to me, it'll be your fault
  3. (transitive) to chance (to be or do something): I happen to know him
  4. (transitive; takes a clause as object) to be the case, esp if by chance, that: it happens that I know him
 adv , sentence substitute
  1. Northern English dialect
    another word for perhaps
Etymology: 14th Century: see hap1, -en1USAGE: See
'happening' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: what a happening place!, the most happening place in [town, the city], a happening [club, bar, restaurant], more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "happening" in the title:

% probability before speaker speaks of event happening
a discovery that important happening by accident
Accidents like these have <been happening> <happened>
Actions happening again and again
Actions happening around now
adapted from real happening
an experience that you imagine [is/that is] happening to you
And the chances of <that> happening
are you happening
are you happening to planning?
around what’s been happening with their jobs and their homes
as something that happens or should happen or is happening
as we can see here happening with this plant
at a minimum for a lack of humanitarian accountability for what's happening...
Avoid something happening
avoid this economic crisis happening
can't imagine anything happening to her
changes going on < in places where?> where agriculture and urbanization are happening
Coming up / Happening or taking place?
Confusion happening in the world
could see the most what is happening on the ground
depend on that thing happening
did not know about all that was happening in
Diwali is happening/coming on 19th October
Earth felt ashamed as the rape was happening on her
earthquake were happening or occurring
everything that happening
Everything's funny as long as it's happening to someone else
from all/everything that's been happening
Future and present connection about something happening continoiusly
more...

Look up "happening" at Merriam-Webster
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