chance

A2 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled chanst

US /t͡ʃæns/ UK /[t͡ʃʰɑːns]/ See IPA manual

noun verb Freq #418

Meanings

1

noun
An opportunity to do something.

We had the chance to meet the president last week.
2

noun
How likely it is that something will happen.

There is a 30 percent chance of rain tomorrow.
3

noun
The way things happen without being planned; luck.

We met by chance at the airport.
4

verb
To find or meet something unexpectedly.

I chanced upon an old friend in the street.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · how likely it is that... possibility

3 noun · the way things happen... fortune luck accident

4 verb · to find or meet something... find

More encounter fool occur transpire trick

Word family

Forms chancedchanceschancing

Derived forms bechancechance-medleychanceablechancefulchancelesschancelychancerchancewisechancyhalf-chancehappenchanceoff-chance

Common collocations

Etymology

From Middle English chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadere (“to fall, to die, to happen, occur”). Doublet of cadence and cadenza.

*ḱh₂d- Proto-Indo-European chance Middle English cheance Old French *cadentia la-vul cadere Latin

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Topics

Actions & Processes

# chance

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** t͡ʃæns
**IPA (UK):** [t͡ʃʰɑːns]
**Frequency rank:** 418

## Meanings
1. An opportunity to do something.
2. How likely it is that something will happen.
3. The way things happen without being planned; luck.
4. To find or meet something unexpectedly.

## Examples
- We had the chance to meet the president last week.
- There is a 30 percent chance of rain tomorrow.
- We met by chance at the airport.
- I chanced upon an old friend in the street.

## Synonyms
- encounter
- fool
- occur
- transpire
- trick

## Derived Forms
- bechance
- chance-medley
- chanceable
- chanceful
- chanceless
- chancely
- chancer
- chancewise
- chancy
- half-chance
- happenchance
- off-chance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ḱh₂d-
- Root: chance
- Root: cheance
- Root: *cadentia
- Root: cadere

## Etymology
From Middle English chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadere (“to fall, to die, to happen, occur”). Doublet of cadence and cadenza.

## AI Etymology
chance is a noun and verb. It is from Middle English chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadere (“to fall, to die, to happen, occur”). Doublet of cadence and cadenza. Historical forms in the chain include *ḱh₂d- (Proto-Indo-European), chance (Middle English), cheance (Old French), *cadentia (la-vul), and cadere (Latin). Current senses include an opportunity to do something, how likely it is that something will happen, and the way things happen without being planned; luck. Derived forms include bechance, chance-medley, chanceable, chanceful, and chanceless.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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chance

Meanings

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