to take a chance
91
3.3
- phrasal verb
:
arriesgarse
- She decided to take a chance and apply for the job, even though she felt underqualified.
So I took a chance and thank God it was successful.
- So I took a chance and thank God it was successful.
- And they, they, they never take a chance.
- Well, obviously that's the first one willing to take a chance, willing to take a risk.
- But what she's really saying is if you work hard, take a chance and have a dream, you might achieve it.
- And it's, you know, it's about taking a chance and, you know, so it's a lot of struggle.
- what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
- And now that my mom is gone, there is no way that I am going to take a chance and leave these things in my body.
- And if the answer is it's not used at all, you're really taking a chance on this diet.
- Playing it safe is being unwilling to take a chance for fear of not looking like your absolute best.
- But that means you have to get really comfortable with being wrong, with taking a chance and failing with.
- I, I built up the courage the first time in my life to to take a chance.
- So do you want to take a chance of getting infected?
Examples
-
Why would anyone take a chance on hiring someone without an active license?
Fiction book (1999) -
I couldn't stand it, so I took a chance and left to work for someone else.
Academic text (1992) -
You just have to take a chance, you know, step out.
-
Come on, take a chance, take a risk.
-
So I took a chance and thank God it was successful.
-
Someone has to take a chance on me.
-
Look, we knew we were taking a chance when we started.
-
You have to take a chance.
-
You must make a choice to take a chance, or your life will never change.
Academic text (2013) -
Every time you send out your writing, you're taking a chance, too -- that it might get published.
Academic text (2009)
Synonyms
∞
3.0
To do something that may cause harm or lead to loss
64
4.0
To take a risk hoping for a good result
56
3.2
Do things that might be dangerous to get something important
37
6.1
To risk doing or saying something to support an idea
36
3.8
Do something risky hoping to do well
18
4.5
To risk doing something hoping for a good result
11
5.7
Make a brave decision even when it feels risky
7
4.2
To do something risky hoping to get a good result
4
4.2
Try a risky action hoping it will work
2
5.1
To risk something important to try to gain something
2
3.0
To do something that might lead to harm or loss
1
8.5
To try something risky when the result is not certain
1
7.3
To do something risky without knowing what will happen
To risk something valuable hoping to get a good result
Take a chance to get a reward
Antonyms
How Risky
- Informal
1
8.2
56
3.2
64
4.0
91
3.3
42
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
take + a + chance
The meaning 'to do something risky in the hope of getting a good result' is directly derivable from 'take' (to accept or seize) + 'chance' (a risky opportunity), so the overall sense is a straightforward combination of the constituents. This verb + noun composition is cross-linguistically common and follows normal English collocation patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase take a chance gives the image of someone trying something where luck matters, like placing a bet or rolling dice. To take the chance is to accept the risk, so the phrase means 'to do something risky in the hope of a good result'.