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Meaning of chance in English
Pronunciation
/tʃæns/
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Verb
chance
Definitions
1.
be the case by chance
Examples
« I chanced to meet my old friend in the street »
2.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
Examples
« When you buy these stocks you are gambling »
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 »
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 »
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 »
3.
a risk involving danger
Examples
« you take a chance when you let her drive »
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 »