chance
 chance (chăns)n.
1.
a. The unknown and unpredictable element in happenings that seems to have no assignable cause.
b. A force assumed to cause events that cannot be foreseen or controlled; luck:
Chance will determine the outcome.
2. The likelihood of something happening; possibility or probability. Often used in the plural:
Chances are good that you will win. Is there any chance of rain?
3. An accidental or unpredictable event.
4. A favorable set of circumstances; an opportunity:
a chance to escape.
5. A risk or hazard; a gamble:
took a chance that the ice would hold me.
6. Games. A raffle or lottery ticket.
7. Baseball. An opportunity to make a putout or an assist that counts as an error if unsuccessful.adj.
Caused by or ascribable to chance; unexpected, random, or casual:
a chance encounter; a chance result.v. chanced, chanc·ing, chanc·esv. intr.
To come about by chance; occur:
It chanced that the train was late that day.v. tr.
To take the risk or hazard of:
not willing to chance it.Phrasal Verb:chance on or upon
To find or meet accidentally; happen upon:
While in Paris we chanced on two old friends.Idioms:by chance
1. Without plan; accidentally:
They met by chance on a plane.
2. Possibly; perchance:
Is he, by chance, her brother?on the off chance
In the slight hope or possibility. [Middle English, unexpected event, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia, from Latin cadēns, cadent- present participle of cadere, to fall, befall. See kad- in Indo-European Roots.]
Synonyms: chance, random, casual, haphazard, desultory
These adjectives apply to what is determined not by deliberation but by accident. Chance stresses lack of premeditation: a chance meeting with a friend. Random implies the absence of a specific pattern or objective: took a random guess. Casual often suggests an absence of due concern: a casual observation. Haphazard implies a carelessness or a willful leaving to chance: a haphazard plan of action. Desultory suggests a shifting about from one thing to another that reflects a lack of method: a desultory conversation. See also synonyms at happen See also synonyms at opportunity
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