coincidence

American  

[koh-in-si-duhns] / koʊˈɪn sɪ dəns /

noun

1. a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance.

   Our meeting in Venice was pure coincidence.

   Synonyms:

   fate, luck, accident

2. the condition or fact of coinciding.

3. an instance of this.

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coincidence British  

/ kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns /

noun

1. a chance occurrence of events remarkable either for being simultaneous or for apparently being connected

2. the fact, condition, or state of coinciding

3. (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

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Other Word Forms

• noncoincidence noun
• precoincidence noun
• supercoincidence noun

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.

Example Sentences

It is no coincidence that Eisenhower endured the worst foreign-policy humiliation of his presidency, in May 1960, during the U-2 crisis and Paris summit, after Dulles had died.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Benesh says the date that most Big Food companies are planning to phase out certain dyes isn’t a coincidence.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2026

"We demonstrated that this synergistic effect is not a coincidence, but is based on a novel mode of action resulting from the simultaneous activation of different intracellular signaling pathways," says Prof. Arimura.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

Anyone who has watched more than one Apple product announcement or browsed its website will see a remarkable coincidence: almost every screen appears to show the time as 9:41 am.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

By coincidence, Pauling and Corey had also suggested a triple helix, with the bases A, C, G, and T pointed outside.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• accident
• fate
• fluke
• happening