chance
Americannoun
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chances
plural
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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.
-
a possibility or probability of anything happening.
a fifty-percent chance of success.
- Synonyms:
- contingency
-
an opportune or favorable time; opportunity.
Now is your chance.
- Synonyms:
- opening
-
Baseball. an opportunity to field the ball and make a putout or an assist.
-
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 byof ).
a fine chance of tomatoes, harvested fresh from the garden today.
-
Archaic. an unfortunate event; mishap.
verb (used without object)
-
chances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chanced,
past participle, past
-
chancing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
chances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chanced,
past participle, past
-
chancing
present participle
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) …
-
acting on the possibility; in case
-
the opportunity for personal gain (esp in the phrase an eye to the main chance )
verb
-
(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
-
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chancesimple
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chancessimple
-
have chancedperfect
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has chancedperfect
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am chancingprogressive
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are chancingprogressive
-
is chancingprogressive
-
have been chancingperfect progressive
-
has been chancingperfect progressive
Past
-
chancedsimple
-
had chancedperfect
-
was chancingprogressive
-
were chancingprogressive
-
had been chancingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
However, could this be the calm before the storms as the Met Office predict a growing chance that late autumn and early winter will turn wetter and windier as El Niño strengthens in the Pacific.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
“I know that there’s a chance Quentin is gonna have an opportunity to start,” Redick said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
But it has little chance of catching the Geran-5 or the Banderol, a cheap cruise missile, which can reach speeds of 370 and 385 mph, respectively.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Brown’s chance of winning was around 65% on Friday, up from just 54% a month ago, according to data from prediction market Kalshi.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
I need to ask her a very important question, and to do that, I’ll have to make eye contact with Aunt J. So I chance lifting my head to meet her gaze.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
While adding that it would be "impossible to assess reliably" the chances of City winning their appeal, Severin added that "doing so will not be easy".
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Skubal, whom they acquired at the trade deadline to boost their chances at a World Series title, is set to hit free agency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Even so, he is optimistic about Mr. Sununu’s chances: “I think it’s a very close race.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
But as an epidemiologist, I do have a question: What are the chances?
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
The chances felt high, especially as it was nearly 9 p.m. and the curfew had recently been brought forward.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
The odds on Tuesday for one rate hike in September were at 60%, while a second hike at the Fed’s December meeting was chanced at 36.7%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Ionic Mineral Technologies was mining the clay in Utah when it chanced upon what could be the critical mineral equivalent of a gold mine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
Mr Sen, who runs a tour company, chanced upon a newspaper article about city enthusiasts lighting up some of the city's grand but often neglected heritage buildings.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2025
He started out as a fiction writer who, while living in Paris, chanced upon avant-garde jazz and took up the saxophone.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2025
As I spoke I chanced to look to my right, and saying “ghost” saw one.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
“I was chancing my arm seeing if I could get flying lessons,” Jean-Baptiste continues, laughing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2025
If chancing the arm sounds simple, look what happened when Zak Crawley tried the same.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2024
Like Friday nights at Blockbuster back in the day, the pleasure of Shudder is in chancing upon under-the-radar stuff.
From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2019
Bayern’s supporters appeal for a penalty, but they’re chancing their arms on that one.
From The Guardian ● May 3, 2016
“We will,” Lily replies, chancing a smile at me.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
