coincidence
Americannoun
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coincidences
plural
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a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance.
Our meeting in Venice was pure coincidence.
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the condition or fact of coinciding.
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an instance of this.
noun
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a chance occurrence of events remarkable either for being simultaneous or for apparently being connected
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the fact, condition, or state of coinciding
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(modifier) electronics of or relating to a circuit that produces an output pulse only when both its input terminals receive pulses within a specified interval Compare anticoincidence
coincidence gate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of coincidence
First recorded in 1595–1605; coincid(ent) + -ence
Explanation
People love to talk about strange coincidences––like you and your mother having the same birthday, or two unrelated families named "The Martins" living next door to each other. A coincidence is something that's not planned or arranged but seems like it is. Technically, a coincidence is an occurrence of events that happen at the same time by total accident––like you and a kid from your class at school both visit the Grand Canyon on the same day. Weird. If some guy is stalking you, always running into you wherever you go, this is not a coincidence. That guy has memorized your schedule.
Vocabulary lists containing coincidence
Wonder
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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Twelve Angry Men
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
By coincidence, the terminal value after 10 years for someone picking the absolute worst moment to invest was almost exactly one-tenth the terminal value for the person who picked the best moment.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
This proposed mechanism may also help explain an intriguing coincidence in Earth's geological past.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
She later posted a photograph with her doppelganger, joking that the resemblance was "pure coincidence, not strategy".
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
It can't be a coincidence that a song she wrote after signing her divorce papers became her breakthrough hit.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
He raises his eyebrows and shrugs like he can’t explain the coincidence that is my math grade.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
No exotic assumptions or rare coincidences were necessary.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The movie takes on some formulaic thriller trappings in its final act, relying too heavily on strained coincidences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Wright gave evidence, arguing many of the prosecution's arguments were coincidences.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
That enigmatic response got the team at the brokerage Baird to look for coincidences between Dorsey and Satoshi.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 25, 2025
It is no great wonder if, in the long process of time, while fortune takes her course hither and thither, numerous coincidences should spontaneously occur.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
