stand a chance

1. Have a possibility or a hope of success, as in Do you think Mary stands a chance of finishing the marathon? or I think we stand a fair chance of seeing the Queen arrive at Buckingham Palace. This idiom was first recorded in 1796. Also see not have an earthly chance.

Example Sentences

Mr Parkinson met senior MPs on Wednesday, and is reported to have told them the government's evidence fell "5%" short of what would have been required to stand a chance of getting a conviction.

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The insight is that if voters don’t trust the Conservatives to be the party of prosperity first and foremost, the Tories don’t stand a chance.

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But that pain is easy for politicians to ignore if they imagine they stand a chance of winning the argument.

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There's no certainty the mother and baby would've survived if they'd been treated at the clinic, but without it, they didn't stand a chance, underlining the undeniable impact of US aid cuts in Afghanistan.

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Their past three tours have been lost without winning a match and Langer thinks the tourists will have to be aggressive to stand a chance on the tour which starts with the first Test in Perth on 21 November.

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