serendipitous
Americanadjective
-
come upon or found by accident; fortuitous.
serendipitous scientific discoveries.
-
serendipitous weather for our vacation.
Other Word Forms
- serendipitously adverb
Etymology
Origin of serendipitous
First recorded in 1940–45; serendipit(y) + -ous
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.
Sure enough, strange serendipitous moments started happening for Small.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Come to think of it, thoughts are perhaps not unlike a murmuration of starlings, flitting and swooping and morphing with seemingly serendipitous activation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
Daniel Holz -- a University of Chicago astrophysicist focused on black holes, who was not involved in the study -- told AFP the "serendipitous" nature of the latest example makes it particularly exciting.
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026
"My journey in comedy since then has been such a series of blessings and serendipitous moments."
From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026
It was serendipitous when writer Thomas Keneally walked into the luggage store that the Pages owned in Beverly Hills and became fascinated by the story Mr. Page told him.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
