fluke

¹

[flook]

noun

1. the part of an anchor that catches in the ground, especially the flat triangular piece at the end of each arm.

2. a barb, or the barbed head, of a harpoon, spear, arrow, or the like.

3. either half of the triangular tail of a whale.

fluke

²

[flook]

noun

1. any of several American flounders of the genus Paralichthys, especially P. dentatus, found in the Atlantic Ocean.

2. any of various other flatfishes.

3. a trematode.

fluke

³

[flook]

noun

1. an accidental advantage; stroke of good luck.

   He got the job by a fluke.

2. an accident or chance happening.

3. an accidentally successful stroke, as in billiards.

fluke

¹

/ fluːk /

noun

1. any parasitic flatworm, such as the blood fluke and liver fluke, of the classes Monogenea and Digenea (formerly united in a single class Trematoda )

2. another name for flounder 2

fluke

²

/ fluːk /

noun

1. an accidental stroke of luck

2. any chance happening

verb

1. (tr) to gain, make, or hit by a fluke

fluke

³

/ fluːk /

noun

1. Also called: flue. a flat bladelike projection at the end of the arm of an anchor

2. either of the two lobes of the tail of a whale or related animal

3. Also called: flue. the barb or barbed head of a harpoon, arrow, etc

fluke

1. Either of the two flattened fins of a whale's tail.

2. See trematode

Other Word Forms

• flukeless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fluke¹

First recorded in 1555–65; perhaps special use of fluke ³

Origin of fluke²

First recorded before 900; Middle English flok, fluke, flewke, Old English flōc; cognate with Old Norse flōki; compare Old High German flah “flat” ( German flach )

Origin of fluke³

First recorded in 1855–60; of obscure origin; compare English dialect fluke “a guess”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fluke¹

Old English flōc ; related to Old Norse flōki flounder, Old Saxon flaka sole, Old High German flah smooth

Origin of fluke²

C19: of unknown origin

Origin of fluke³

C16: perhaps a special use of _fluke ³ (in the sense: a flounder)

Example Sentences

There they saw ferns with leaves instead of fronds, ferns that loved the sun, ferns that lacked sporangia altogether, and other bizarre flukes of nature.

Read more on Literature

One can argue that Mamdani’s dramatic win was a kind of fluke, a black-swan event that reveals more about the Democratic Party’s institutional weakness than about a major generational or ideological shift.

Read more on Salon

And almost halfway through the season, it’s looking less and less like a fluke.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The complications we’d encountered had been flukes; a healthy birth was possible, and pregnancy was safe for me.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A seven-year-old boy is in danger of losing sight in one eye because of an undiagnosed condition that was only picked up by a "fluke appointment" at the optician's.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• blessing 
• quirk