lucky

¹ American  

[luhk-ee] / ˈlʌk i /

adjective

luckier, luckiest

1. having or marked by good luck; fortunate.

   That was my lucky day.

   Synonyms:

   blessed

   Antonyms:

   unfortunate

2. happening fortunately.

   a lucky accident.

3. bringing or foretelling good luck, or supposed to do so.

   a lucky penny.

   Synonyms:

   favorable, propitious, auspicious

---

lucky ² American  

[luhk-ee] / ˈlʌk i /

Or luckie

noun

Scot.

luckies plural

1. a familiar name applied to an elderly woman, especially a grandmother; granny.

2. a familiar name applied to a woman, as one's wife or a barmaid.

---

lucky British  

/ ˈlʌkɪ /

adjective

1. having or bringing good fortune

2. happening by chance, esp as desired

---

lucky Idioms  

1. see born under a lucky star; strike it rich (lucky); thank one's lucky stars.

---

Usage

What are other ways to say lucky? Someone or something that is lucky has or is marked by good luck. How is lucky different from happy or fortunate? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• luckiness
  noun
• luckily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• luckies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lucky¹

First recorded in 1495–1505; luck + -y ¹

Origin of lucky²

First recorded in 1710–20; luck + -y ²

Explanation

When you're lucky, things work out well for you — you experience good fortune. If you're feeling lucky, it might be a good day to buy a lottery ticket or guess the number of jelly beans in a jar. Lucky people seem to have everything going for them, and your lucky charm (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) seems to bring that kind of success in your direction. Some lucky things are happy coincidences: "How lucky that I ran into you this morning!" When you're envious of someone else's big break, you can say, "You lucky devil." Lucky and luck come from the Middle Dutch gheluc, "good fortune."

Example Sentences

“Clive was always a north star of music and talent and artistry. We’re all lucky to have his legacy to look up to.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

Andy Carter, senior winners advisor at The National Lottery operator Allwyn, said this was an "incredible win for one lucky Lotto ticketholder".

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

British fans are lucky they got to watch world number two Elena Rybakina and Canadian star Victoria Mboko, but they missed out on world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026

"That's pretty hard to do in the current football environment and we're lucky to have him."

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

Even though, at the end of the day, he had been one of the lucky ones.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

• fortuitous
• happy
• hot
• successful