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
-
-
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
-
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
-
am chancingprogressive
-
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:
And there is even about a 1 in 7 chance, or 14%, that it will prove to be a poor investment over the next 20 years.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
The forecast notes that some models are calling for rain to arrive later, so there’s still a chance Saturday evening could be dry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
After announcing plans for a U.S. factory, executives said the plant was a chance to turn around Audi’s U.S. operation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Nearly 40 hours passed between United losing against Bournemouth on Sunday and the club providing clarification on Carrick's future, with the Englishman being given a chance to turn things around at Old Trafford.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
He had to reach the overhang, or he wouldn’t stand a chance.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
If you’ve ever found yourself driving along Highway 395, chances are good you’ve been craning your head west toward the Range of Light, staring at the formidable granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
The double standard is why “You Can See Everything” having legitimate chances at multiple top awards next year is so exciting.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
Broadcom’s stock trades at 16 times estimates for earnings per share in 2027, which Luria said makes it seem as though the chances for both IPOs “are near zero.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
The 32-year-old feared it might jeopardize her chances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
For the most part, the Nazis didn’t interfere with personal home libraries, but some people took no chances.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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
One day he chanced to see a mighty eagle, greater and more splendid than any mortal bird, bearing a maiden to an island not far away.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
“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
Conditions Chelsea are appealing against in a state of affairs they they are either chancing their arms or don’t quite understand how sanctions work.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 10, 2022
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
Was it worth chancing it, or should he double back?
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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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.
