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
  • Neither team could find a flow from three-point range in the first half as the teams combined to shoot five for 29 from deep — three of 16 by Golden State and two for 13 by Atlanta.
    — Janie McCauley, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Of the first 15 plays for the Dallas offense, 10 were on the ground, and the Cowboys found success.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of find
Verb
  • One of his teams encountered thousands of these devices in Iraq.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
  • While Florida doesn’t offer the mountaintop vistas and waterfalls found in other states, there are so many trails on land and water worth exploring, with myriad flora and fauna to encounter along the way.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 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 1 Nov. 2026.

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