chance
the absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled: often personified or treated as a positive agency: Chance governs all.
luck or fortune: a game of chance.
a possibility or probability of anything happening: a fifty-percent chance of success.
an opportune or favorable time; opportunity: Now is your chance.
a risk or hazard: Take a chance.
a share or ticket in a lottery or prize drawing: The charity is selling chances for a dollar each.
chances, probability: The chances are that the train hasn't left yet.
Midland and Southern U.S. a quantity or number (usually followed by of): a fine chance of tomatoes, harvested fresh from the garden today.
Archaic. an unfortunate event; mishap.
to happen or occur by chance: It chanced that our arrivals coincided.
to take the chances or risks of; risk (often followed by impersonal it): I'll have to chance it, whatever the outcome.
not planned or expected; accidental: a chance occurrence.
chance on / upon to come upon by chance; meet unexpectedly: She chanced on a rare kind of mushroom during her walk through the woods.
Idioms about chance
by chance, without plan or intent; accidentally: I met her again by chance in a department store in Paris.
on the chance, in the mild hope or against the possibility: I'll wait on the chance that she'll come.
on the off chance, in the very slight hope or against the very slight possibility: I’m free Friday, on the off chance that you end up with a spare ticket to the concert.
Origin of chance
1synonym study For chance
Other words for chance
Opposites for chance
Other words from chance
- chance·less, adjective
- un·chanced, adjective
Words Nearby chance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chance in a sentence
Few of those who say they are “probably” going to vote for one candidate say there is a “chance” they would vote for the other candidate, suggesting that some of these “swing” voters may not vote on Election Day, the pollsters said.
Election live updates: Trump returns to Wisconsin; Biden to face live audience at town hall | Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner | September 17, 2020 | Washington PostIn Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court voted on a strict party line, with the court’s two Republicans partially dissenting, writing in a separate opinion that the Green Party ticket should have been given a chance to fix its paperwork.
The news was bleak—Paul would need a kidney transplant if he had any chance of living a long life.
A Welcome Lifeline | Washington Regional Transplant Community | September 17, 2020 | Washington BladeClearly, some state polls missed the mark in 2016, leading forecasts to assume he had less of a chance of winning than he did.
If voters are wary of stating support for Trump in polls, why does he outperform GOP Senate candidates? | Philip Bump | September 16, 2020 | Washington PostWhen the NHL playoffs began, the bookmakers didn’t give the Dallas Stars much of a chance to win the Stanley Cup.
Teams Don’t Win The Stanley Cup With A Goal Deficit. Can The Dallas Stars Change That? | Terrence Doyle | September 16, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
With chemotherapy, her doctors give her at least an 80 percent chance of survival.
At the moment, the only chance I get is when I go do Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness | Marlow Stern | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIs there any chance the potential 2016 hopeful will stand up to the right and embrace paid sick leave?
Do those things," he said, "and you'll have half a chance of being successful.
Heinold's First and Last chance, Oakland (Jack London, Taft) You can thank Johnny Heinold for your favorite Jack London book.
If you throw away this chance, you will both richly deserve to be hanged, as I sincerely trust you will be.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2) | Charles DickensInstead of giving you a chance to say, "He has made a mistake," he forced you to say, "He has shown how to get out of a mistake."
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayFew of us there are who would not gladly read and speak several more languages if we had the chance of doing so.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsIn running over many words, the intellect might be arrested by chance.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)But it was my only chance then; or rather I had seen enough of business to avoid making mistakes when I could.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for chance
/ (tʃɑːns) /
the unknown and unpredictable element that causes an event to result in a certain way rather than another, spoken of as a real force
(as modifier): a chance meeting Related adjective: fortuitous
fortune; luck; fate
an opportunity or occasion
a risk; gamble: you take a chance with his driving
the extent to which an event is likely to occur; probability
an unpredicted event, esp a fortunate one: that was quite a chance, finding him here
archaic an unlucky event; mishap
by chance
accidentally: he slipped by chance
perhaps: do you by chance have a room?
chances are… or the chances are… it is likely (that) …
on the chance acting on the possibility; in case
the main chance the opportunity for personal gain (esp in the phrase an eye to the main chance)
(tr) to risk; hazard: I'll chance the worst happening
to happen by chance; be the case by chance: I chanced to catch sight of her as she passed
chance on or chance upon to come upon by accident: he chanced on the solution to his problem
chance one's arm to attempt to do something although the chance of success may be slight
Origin of chance
1Derived forms of chance
- chanceful, adjective
- chanceless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with chance
In addition to the idioms beginning with chance
- chance it
- chance on
also see:
- by chance
- Chinaman's chance
- eye to the main chance
- fat chance
- fighting chance
- jump at (the chance)
- not have an earthly chance
- on the (off) chance
- snowball's chance in hell
- sporting chance
- stand a chance
- take a chance
- take one's chances
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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