kismet

American  

[kiz-met, kis-] / ˈkɪz mɛt, ˈkɪs- /

noun

1. fate; destiny.

   It must have been kismet that brought the bride and groom together a year ago.

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kismet British  

/ ˈkɪzmɛt, ˈkɪs- /

noun

1. Islam the will of Allah

2. fate or destiny

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Usage

What does kismet mean? Kismet means fate or destiny.In Islam, kismet refers to the will of Allah. But it is popularly used to refer to something that one believes was “meant to be”—or the reason why such a thing happened. It can also be spelled kismat, but that’s much less common.Example: We ran into each other on Valentine’s Day, and neither of us had a date, so who was I to deny kismet?

Etymology

Origin of kismet

First recorded in 1840–50; from Turkish, from Persian qismat, from Arabic qisma, qismat- “division, portion, lot, fate,” akin to qasama “(he) divided,” from the (West) Semitic root qsm “to divide, allot”

Example Sentences

A similar sort of casting kismet struck with Frankenstein when Andrew Garfield’s schedule forced him out of the monster role nine weeks before shooting was set to begin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025

“Never Too Late” is uninterested in being much more than a glorified Wikipedia page, but it strikes up a kismet conversation with the Elton John of right now.

From Salon • Dec. 19, 2024

But yes, as a Black woman, a Black queer woman, it felt kind of kismet.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024

Of all the social media platforms, it holds the greatest promise of kismet.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2024

“In eight months you’re going to be a grandmother! Turn kitni khush kismet ho.”

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon