sporting chance

American

noun

an even or fair opportunity for a favorable outcome in an enterprise, as winning in a game of chance or in any kind of contest.

They gave the less experienced players a sporting chance by handicapping the experts.

Etymology

Origin of sporting chance

First recorded in 1895–1900

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.

"We must get back to giving women a level playing field to compete. We need to give women a sporting chance."

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2024

The next two teams on the list, the 1968 Cardinals and 1968 Indians, pitched in a year so offensively anemic that baseball soon lowered the mound to give hitters a sporting chance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2016

With Affleck not nominated this time, and no star directors among the final five, Spielberg has a sporting chance, though the feeling here is that Ang Lee will be cited for Life of Pi.

From Time • Feb. 22, 2013

It used to be that journalists had a sporting chance of protecting their sources.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2012

I was not able to do that; but I thought we had, in the vulgar phrase, a sporting chance.

From Hurricane Island by Watson, H. B. Marriott (Henry Brereton Marriott)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023