Library / English Dictionary

CHANCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A risk involving danger

Example:

you take a chance when you let her drive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):

danger; peril; risk (a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury)

Derivation:

chance (take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome)

chancy (of uncertain outcome; especially fraught with risk)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Example:

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

Synonyms:

chance; probability

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):

amount; measure; quantity (how much there is or how many there are of something that you can quantify)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chance"):

conditional probability; contingent probability (the probability that an event will occur given that one or more other events have occurred)

cross section ((physics) the probability that a particular interaction (as capture or ionization) will take place between particles; measured in barns)

exceedance ((geology) the probability that an earthquake will generate a level of ground motion that exceeds a specified reference level during a given exposure time)

fair chance; sporting chance (a reasonable probability of success)

fat chance; slim chance (little or no chance of success)

joint probability (the probability of two events occurring together)

risk; risk of exposure (the probability of being exposed to an infectious agent)

risk; risk of infection (the probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurred)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Example:

we ran into each other by pure chance

Synonyms:

chance; fortune; hazard; luck

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):

phenomenon (any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chance"):

bad luck; mischance; mishap (an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate)

even chance; toss-up; tossup (an unpredictable phenomenon)

Derivation:

chance (be the case by chance)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The possibility of future success

Example:

his prospects as a writer are excellent

Synonyms:

chance; prospect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):

potency; potential; potentiality (the inherent capacity for coming into being)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances

Example:

now is your chance

Synonyms:

chance; opportunity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):

possibility; possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chance"):

throw (a single chance or instance)

street (a situation offering opportunities)

crack; shot (a chance to do something)

say (the chance to speak)

room (opportunity for)

opening (opportunity especially for employment or promotion)

occasion (an opportunity to do something)

hunting ground (a place where opportunities abound)

audience; hearing (an opportunity to state your case and be heard)

clean slate; fresh start; tabula rasa (an opportunity to start over without prejudice)

day (a period of opportunity)

brass ring (a rich opportunity or a prize)

Derivation:

chance (be the case by chance)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Occurring or appearing or singled out by chance

Example:

a chance occurrence

Synonyms:

casual; chance

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

unplanned (without apparent forethought or prompting or planning)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Come upon, as if by accident; meet with

Example:

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

Synonyms:

bump; chance; encounter; find; happen

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

Example:

When you buy these stocks you are gambling

Synonyms:

adventure; chance; gamble; hazard; risk; run a risk; take a chance; take chances

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "chance" is one way to...):

assay; attempt; essay; seek; try (make an effort or attempt)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "chance"):

go for broke (risk everything in one big effort)

luck it; luck through (act by relying on one's luck)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

chance (a risk involving danger)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be the case by chance

Example:

I chanced to meet my old friend in the street

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "chance" is one way to...):

come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "chance"):

happen (chance to be or do something, without intention or causation)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

chance (an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another)

chance (a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances)

Credits

 Context examples: 

There was no course left the party but to wait for chance transportation.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

It chanced on one of these rambles that their way led them down a by-street in a busy quarter of London.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

It is to be hoped so, I suppose, for his chances of comfort in another world are very small.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Did you chance to observe what became of it?

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sooner ovarian cancer is found and treated, the better your chance for recovery.

(Ovarian Cancer, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

It helps show whether a difference found between groups that are being compared is due to chance.

(P-value, NCI Dictionary)

In some cases, metaplastic changes alone may mean there is an increased chance of cancer developing at the site.

(Metaplastic carcinoma, NCI Dictionary)

An indication that a subject is part of a population group that has a greater chance of contracting a disease or disorder.

(Member Of High Risk Population, NCI Thesaurus)

To reduce the chances of breaking a bone if you do fall, make sure that you get enough calcium and vitamin D.

(Falls, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

Aging and being overweight also increase your chances of having foot problems.

(Foot Injuries and Disorders, NIH)