chance

(noun, adjective, verb)

adjective

1. occurring or appearing or singled out by chance

- a chance occurrence

Similar word(s): unplanned, casual

noun

1. a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances

- now is your chance

Similar word(s): opportunity

Definition categories: state, possibility, possibleness

2. an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another

- we ran into each other by pure chance

Similar word(s): fortune, hazard, luck

Definition categories: phenomenon

3. a risk involving danger

- you take a chance when you let her drive

Definition categories: act, danger, peril, risk

4. a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible

- if that phone call is for me, chances are it's my wife

Similar word(s): probability

Definition categories: attribute, amount, measure, quantity

5. the possibility of future success

Similar word(s): prospect

Definition categories: state, potency, potential, potentiality

Sentences with chance as a noun:

- We had the chance to meet the president last week.

- Why leave it to chance when a few simple steps will secure the desired outcome?

- There is a 30 percent chance of rain tomorrow.

verb

1. be the case by chance

- I chanced to meet my old friend in the street

Definition categories: social, hap, happen, occur, pass

2. take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

Similar word(s): adventure, gamble, hazard, risk

Definition categories: social, assay, attempt, essay, seek, try

3. come upon, as if by accident; meet with

- She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day

Similar word(s): bump, encounter, find, happen

Definition categories: possession

Sentences with chance as a verb:

- It chanced that I found a solution the very next day.

- Shall we carry the umbrella, or chance a rainstorm?

- He chanced upon a kindly stranger who showed him the way.