To find or encounter something or someone entirely by accident.
To accidentally find something you were not expecting or looking for.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To find or encounter something or someone by accident, without looking for it.
"While hiking in the hills, we happened upon the ruins of an ancient church."
I happened upon a copy of Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' in a second-hand bookshop.
— Commonly cited type of anecdote in literary memoir writing; representative of established idiomatic usage
To come across an idea or solution by chance rather than through deliberate effort.
"The scientist happened upon the discovery quite by accident while working on a different experiment."
To move upon something and have it occur as a matter of chance.
To accidentally find something you were not expecting or looking for.
'Happen upon' is the more common and slightly more formal variant compared to 'happen on'. Frequently found in literary and journalistic writing. Used in both British and American English.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "happen upon" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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