Meaning of chance in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /tʃæns/

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  1. Verb

    chance

    Definitions

    1. be the case by chance

    Examples

    • « I chanced to meet my old friend in the street »
  2. 2. take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

    Examples

    • « When you buy these stocks you are gambling »
  3. 3. come upon, as if by accident

    Examples

    • « meet with »
    • « We find this idea in Plato »
    • « I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here »
    • « She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day »

  4. Noun

    chance

    Etymology

    Middle English: from Old French cheance, from cheoir‘fall, befall’, based on Latin cadere

    Definitions

    1. a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances

    Examples

    • « the holiday gave us the opportunity to visit Washington »
    • « now is your chance »
  5. 2. an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another

    Examples

    • « bad luck caused his downfall »
    • « we ran into each other by pure chance »
  6. 3. a risk involving danger

    Examples

    • « you take a chance when you let her drive »
  7. 4. a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur

    Examples

    • « what is the probability of rain? »
    • « we have a good chance of winning »