happen (on or upon)

verb

Definition of happen (on or upon)next
as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance happened on the filming of a movie

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for happen (on or upon)
  1. find
  2. encounter
  3. come across
Verb
  • The story centers on two ex-lovers who come back into each other’s lives after spending decades apart, only to find old feelings stirring with messy and mixed results.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Hall found that forecasting future consumer spending is virtually impossible.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of find
Verb
  • Dennis and Rosa encounter all sorts of people, from feuding Take That tribute bands to Irish bachelorettes, comedians and bingo enthusiasts.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Last summer, 24 people were taken to the hospital after a Delta Air Lines flight encountered turbulence caused by a thunderstorm over Wyoming.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of encounter
Verb
  • Lead vocalist Jacob Bannon came across the phenomenon when researching his own tinnitus and reimagined it as a culmination of all the pain and suffering in human existence.
    — Alex Robert Ross, Pitchfork, 24 June 2026
  • So Veena’s mother turned to the internet, came across a blog post about Real Love and spoke to the woman who wrote it, a mother whose son had been suicidal.
    — Rich Schapiro, NBC news, 20 June 2026
Definition of come across
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

happening (upon)
happen (on or upon)
happens
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Cite this Entry

“Happen (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happen%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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