in with a chance
1
6.0
- idiom
- UK
:
con posibilidades
- With only a few minutes left in the game, the team's strong performance meant they were in with a chance of winning.
I I genuinely thought he was in with a chance.
- I I genuinely thought he was in with a chance.
Examples
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The only small heavyweight out there who is in with a chance against either brother is David Haye.
Blog text (16) -
- As long as he thinks he's in with a chance.
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Now remember these simple rules and we're in with a chance.
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- If I can be ahead of Kenny at the end of the run I'm in with a chance.
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If you can get her to the ground, you're in with a chance.
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You're in with a chance.
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Pedrosa and Lorenzo were still in with a chance of the title.
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In a nutshell, all we're asking to enter is to send a picture of your workspace to be in with a chance of winning a desktop paint and fume filter.
Blog text (17) -
(You are in with a chance even in the most corrupt, most ruthless, and most lawless nation if only you have the backing of an honest, brave, and upright -- even if adulterous, but we shall let it pass -- ex-editor of a British women's magazine.)
Blog text (6) -
After studying hard for the exam, she felt she was in with a chance of passing.
Antonyms
How Likely
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'chance' clearly signals possibility and the prepositions 'in' + 'with' can be parsed as being included 'among those with a chance', so a learner who knows the constituents can often infer the basic meaning. However, the fixed colloquial pattern 'in with a chance (of...)' is a specific collocation and the role of 'in with' is somewhat idiomatic rather than fully compositional, so full comprehension may require prior exposure.
Etymology
In with a chance probably comes from contests: people who are still in the race are standing with a real chance to win. So, it now means 'having a real possibility' of succeeding.