chance
Americannoun
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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.
- Antonyms:
- necessity
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luck or fortune.
a game of chance.
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a possibility or probability of anything happening.
a fifty-percent chance of success.
- Synonyms:
- contingency
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an opportune or favorable time; opportunity.
Now is your chance.
- Synonyms:
- opening
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Baseball. an opportunity to field the ball and make a putout or an assist.
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a risk or hazard.
Take a chance.
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a share or ticket in a lottery or prize drawing.
The charity is selling chances for a dollar each.
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chances, probability.
The chances are that the train hasn't left yet.
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Midland and Southern U.S. a quantity or number (usually followed byof ).
a fine chance of tomatoes, harvested fresh from the garden today.
-
Archaic. an unfortunate event; mishap.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
adjective
verb phrase
idioms
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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.
-
on the chance, in the mild hope or against the possibility.
I'll wait on the chance that she'll come.
-
by chance, without plan or intent; accidentally.
I met her again by chance in a department store in Paris.
noun
-
-
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
-
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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
-
-
accidentally
he slipped by chance
-
perhaps
do you by chance have a room?
-
-
it is likely (that) …
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acting on the possibility; in case
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the opportunity for personal gain (esp in the phrase an eye to the main chance )
verb
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(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
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to come upon by accident
he chanced on the solution to his problem
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to attempt to do something although the chance of success may be slight
Synonym Usage
See happen.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have chancedperfect
-
has chancedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have been chancingperfect progressive
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are chancingprogressive
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is chancingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been chancingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
am chancingprogressive 1st person singular
-
chancingparticiple
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chancessingular 3rd person
Past
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had chancedperfect
-
had been chancingperfect progressive
-
were chancingprogressive plural
-
was chancingprogressive singular
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chancedparticiple
-
chancedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of chance
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chaunce, chance, chea(u)nce, from Old French chance, cheance from unattested Vulgar Latin cadentia “a befalling, happening”; see cadenza
Explanation
A chance is a possibility — but it's not a sure thing. There could be a chance of rain today or a chance you'll be the lead in the school play. Chance is sometimes about opportunity, as in getting a chance to try out for the baseball team. Sometimes it's just luck, as in taking a chance on a new car through a raffle at school. You could meet someone by chance, and you could say, "I chanced upon him at a coffee shop." Sometimes the word implies danger, as in "He took a chance when he signed up for skydiving." In any case, a chance is never a sure thing.
Vocabulary lists containing chance
Statistics and Probability - Middle School
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Workshop 3, Part 1
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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.
KU’S CHANCE: Once the nation’s No. 1 team, Kansas is down to one last chance to win a title ring.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2019
BEATHARD’S CHANCE: The 49ers are sticking with Beathard while Garoppolo still learns the offense, in part because of how well he played two weeks ago before the bye in San Francisco’s first win.
From Washington Times • Nov. 24, 2017
DAVIS’ CHANCE: Khris Davis is eager for a new start out West after his trade from Milwaukee just before spring training began.
From Washington Times • Mar. 31, 2016
ERNIE'S CHANCE: Ernie Els finds himself in a familiar position once again, chasing down a leader at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 21, 2012
Halfway down the Straits we sighted the CHANCE, all hands ripping the blubber off a sizeable whale in the same "anyhow" fashion as they handled their ship.
From The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales by Bullen, Frank T.
Definitions 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.
