accident
Americannoun
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accidents
plural
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an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap.
automobile accidents.
- Synonyms:
- disaster, contingency, misadventure, misfortune, mischance
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Law. such a happening resulting in injury that is in no way the fault of the injured person for which compensation or indemnity is legally sought.
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any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause.
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chance; fortune; luck.
I was there by accident.
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a fortuitous circumstance, quality, or characteristic.
an accident of birth.
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Philosophy. any entity or event contingent upon the existence of something else.
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Geology. a surface irregularity, usually on a small scale, the reason for which is not apparent.
noun
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an unforeseen event or one without an apparent cause
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anything that occurs unintentionally or by chance; chance; fortune
I met him by accident
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a misfortune or mishap, esp one causing injury or death
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Also called: adjunct. logic philosophy a nonessential attribute or characteristic of something (as opposed to substance)
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metaphysics a property as contrasted with the substance in which it inheres
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geology a surface irregularity in a natural formation, esp in a rock formation or a river system
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of accident
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin accident-, stem of accidēns “happening,” present participle of accidere “to befall, happen,” from ac- ac- + -cidere, combining form of cadere “to fall”
Explanation
An accident is an unfortunate event. By their very nature, accidents are not planned. Rear-ending the car ahead of you, spilling milk, losing your footing on an icy sidewalk — all of these are considered accidents. You will most often hear people use accident to describe an unfortunate mistake, like swerving into oncoming traffic or making a sloppy calculation. However, an accident could have a positive outcome as well: "The invention of the chocolate chip cookie was a happy accident, occurring when the cook decided to add the chopped chocolate to the batter without melting it first."
Vocabulary lists containing accident
"Angels in the Snow"
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cas, cad, cid
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"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 10–12
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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:
It may be a case of friendly fire, a wound caused as a result of a hunting accident.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Nights out have been rare for Mora in recent months after spending a huge chunk of her income to buy black-market medicine for injuries she sustained in a motorbike accident.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
A fatal accident on a Six Flags Entertainment roller coaster sent shares of the amusement-park operator on Tuesday near the lowest level of the year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Britain’s postwar government introduced disability payments to help offset lost wages for, say, a worker who lost a hand in an industrial accident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
As far as Chase knew, his father hadn’t set foot in Monica’s bedroom since the accident.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
The death at Six Flags Over Georgia is at least the seventh there, according to the Doan Law Firm, which tracks amusement park accidents and represents victims.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
He has encountered numerous mothers coping with the sudden death of their partner from causes such as shootings, car accidents and other unexpected events.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Plant officials say stringent safety measures have been followed and lessons from previous nuclear accidents were incorporated into the project.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
After getting treated, the motorcyclist continued to ride with a cast and suffered injuries in two more accidents, which he told medical professionals involved cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The first is the probability of not being afflicted with any of a variety of diseases, accidents, or other misfortunes.
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.
