happen upon

verb

To accidentally encounter a person or situation; to chance upon, happen on or stumble across.

Meanings

verbhappen upon (third-person singular simple present happens upon, present participle happening upon, simple past and past participle happened upon)

present singular third person happens upon · participle present happening upon · participle past happened upon · past happened upon

  1. To accidentally encounter a person or situation; to chance upon, happen on or stumble across.

    The old haunt that defines “Dragonstone” isn’t Dragonstone, though. It’s the house of that peasant father who took in the Hound and Arya, fed them, and gave them a good night’s sleep only to be robbed. In the present, the Brotherhood Without Banners happens upon the man’s house.

    2017 July 16, Brandon Nowalk, “Chickens and dragons come home to roost on Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2017

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Polish natrafiać, natrafić
  • natrafiaćto accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • natrafićto accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • natykać sięto accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • natknąć sięto accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • napotykaćto accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • napotkaćto accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • wpadaćto accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • wpaśćto accidentally encounter a person or situation
Russian натолкну́ться
  • натолкну́ться (natolknútʹsja)to accidentally encounter a person or situation
Ukrainian натрапля́ти, натра́пити
  • натрапля́ти (natrapljáty)to accidentally encounter a person or situation
  • натра́пити (natrápyty)to accidentally encounter a person or situation
Cite this entry
APA

happen upon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/happen%20upon

MLA

“happen upon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/happen%20upon. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “happen upon,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/happen%20upon.

Source: happen upon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.