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Glite Dictionary
🎲 A possibility 🍀 By luck 🤷 Unplanned 🎰 To risk 🔎 To find by accident
to chance

to chance

7 3.9
To find something by accident
  • verb
  • /tʃæns/
: toparse con
  • And if we chance to meet somewhere, we don't know each other.

Examples

  • At the corner, Leonid chanced upon an old friend standing under the street lamp.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • - You may chance across her again some time.

    The Gay Divorcee (1934)

  • In fact, she said, it was her husband who first chanced upon the site.

    Blog text (33)

  • I am glad I chanced by in time to help.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Nice blog that you maintain here. I just chanced upon your blog while surfing the blogosphere.

    Blog text (19)

  • Billie and Ted Alloway had been traveling through the Caribbean when they chanced upon the Damrosches in the lobby of their hotel.

    The Cathedral (2022)

  • While hiking in the woods, I chanced to discover a hidden waterfall.

  • As I walked through the market, I chanced upon a rare vintage book that I had been searching for.

  • While exploring a new city, I chanced to meet a local artist who invited me to her gallery.

Synonyms

to find
vsto chance
∞ 1.0

To discover something while looking or by accident

often implies accidental discovery rather than deliberate searching or investigation
to happen
vsto chance
∞ 1.0

To be or do something by chance, often used about a person

adds focus on unexpectedly finding or meeting others rather than mere occurrence
to encounter
vsto chance
406 3.2

To meet someone or find a problem unexpectedly

is more about accidental finding or unplanned actions rather than broad experiences
to come across
vsto chance
289 2.6

To find something or someone by chance

is more general, also meaning to do something unplanned
to stumble
vsto chance
189 2.8

To find something by chance

is more general, also covers unplanned actions
to bump
vsto chance
118 2.8

To meet someone by chance while you are out

is broader, also applying to events that merely occur without planning
to come upon
vsto chance
59 2.2

To find something or someone by chance

often covers events or finds that happen without planning
to run across
vsto chance
39 2.7

Find something by chance while doing something else

is broader, covering any unplanned action or discovery
to chance on
vsto chance
25 6.1

To find something or someone by accident while doing something else

is broader, also covers simple unplanned actions or events
to happen upon
vsto chance
18 4.9

Find a person or thing by chance

often means broader unplanned events beyond just finding things
to hit upon
vsto chance
8 4.9

To find or think of something by chance

is mainly about unplanned finding rather than planned thought after searching
to fall upon
vsto chance
4 3.6

To find something by chance

is broader, including ordinary happenings not only sudden finds
to chance upon
vsto chance
4 5.1

Find someone or something by accident

is more general, including random actions as well as discoveries
to bechance
vsto chance
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To happen to someone by accident

is more about unexpected discovery or action rather than simple occurrence

Idioms

by chance
184 2.3

Happening without planning or intending

on the off chance
18 6.7

Just in case there is a small chance something will happen

fat chance
  • Informal
12 8.1

A way to say something is very unlikely to happen

in with a chance
  • UK
2 6.0

Having a real possibility of succeeding at something

Chinaman's chance
  • Slur
1 9.9

A very small chance, expressed by an old insulting phrase

dog's chance
  • UK
1 8.4

A very small hope of success

Tinker to Evers to Chance
  • Informal
9.9

A famous baseball double play that stands for perfect teamwork

Phrasal Verbs

to take a chance
136 3.3

To do something risky hoping for a good result

to chance on
25 6.1

To find something or someone by accident while doing something else

to chance upon
4 5.1

Find someone or something by accident

to blow a chance
  • Informal
1 4.9

Miss a good opportunity by making a mistake

to take one's chance
  • Informal
1 4.2

Try a risky action hoping it will work

Compounds

second chance
271 2.3

An opportunity to try again after making a mistake

fighting chance
  • Informal
29 4.0

A real chance to succeed despite the difficulty

fair chance
14 2.4

A good but not certain chance of success

slim chance
14 3.4

A very small possibility that something will happen

game of chance
12 3.7

An activity where luck decides the result, like a lottery or roulette

chance of rain
7 2.2

How likely it is to rain at a time or place

outside chance
  • Informal
6 3.5

A very small possibility that something will happen

chance event
2 3.4

An event that happens by accident and is not planned

chance of reconciliation
1 4.8

The possibility that two people will be friendly again after a disagreement

sporting chance
  • UK
1 3.5

A fair possibility of success that is not certain

last chance saloon
  • UK
1 7.0

A final chance to succeed or avoid failure

happy chance
1 3.9

A lucky unexpected event that brings something good

chance music
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Music in which some sounds happen by accident or by a player's choice

chance variable
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A number that takes different values by chance in statistics to show random results

chance-half correlation
  • Specialized
9.8

A number that shows how similar scores are between two random halves of a test

chance-medley
  • Archaic
9.9

An unplanned killing during a sudden fight, often in self-defence

Surface Forms

chance infinitive
chanced past
chanced past participle
chancing present participle
chances third person singular

Etymology

Chance used as a verb meaning 'to happen to' comes from casus 'a fall', so to 'chance upon' something is to have it 'fall' into your life by accident and find it unexpectedly.