Dictionary entry details
• CHANCE (noun)
Meaning:
A possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
chance; opportunity
Context examples:
the holiday gave us the opportunity to visit Washington / now is your chance
Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):
possibility; possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chance"):
throw (a single chance or instance)
street (a situation offering opportunities)
crack; shot (a chance to do something)
say (the chance to speak)
room (opportunity for)
opening (opportunity especially for employment or promotion)
occasion (an opportunity to do something)
hunting ground (a place where opportunities abound)
audience; hearing (an opportunity to state your case and be heard)
clean slate; fresh start; tabula rasa (an opportunity to start over without prejudice)
day (a period of opportunity)
brass ring (a rich opportunity or a prize)
Meaning:
An unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Synonyms:
fortune; luck; hazard; chance
Context examples:
bad luck caused his downfall / we ran into each other by pure chance
Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):
phenomenon (any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chance"):
even chance; toss-up; tossup (an unpredictable phenomenon)
bad luck; mischance; mishap (an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate)
Meaning:
A risk involving danger
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Context example:
you take a chance when you let her drive
Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):
danger; peril; risk (a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury)
Meaning:
A measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
probability; chance
Context example:
the probability that an unbiased coin will fall with the head up is 0.5
Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):
amount; measure; quantity (how much there is of something that you can quantify)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chance"):
conditional probability; contingent probability (the probability that an event will occur given that one or more other events have occurred)
cross section ((physics) the probability that a particular interaction (as capture or ionization) will take place between particles; measured in barns)
exceedance ((geology) the probability that an earthquake will generate a level of ground motion that exceeds a specified reference level during a given exposure time)
fair chance; sporting chance (a reasonable probability of success)
fat chance; slim chance (little or no chance of success)
joint probability (the probability of two events occurring together)
risk; risk of exposure (the probability of being exposed to an infectious agent)
risk; risk of infection (the probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurred)
Meaning:
The possibility of future success
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
prospect; chance
Context example:
his prospects as a writer are excellent
Hypernyms ("chance" is a kind of...):
potency; potential; potentiality (the inherent capacity for coming into being)
• CHANCE (adjective)
Meaning:
Occurring or appearing or singled out by chance
Synonyms:
chance; accidental; casual
Context examples:
their accidental meeting led to a renewal of their friendship / seek help from casual passers-by / a casual meeting / a chance occurrence
Similar:
unplanned (without apparent forethought or prompting or planning)
• CHANCE (verb)
Meaning:
Be the case by chance
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Context example:
I chanced to meet my old friend in the street
Hypernyms (to "chance" is one way to...):
come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "chance"):
happen (chance to be or do something, without intention or causation)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Meaning:
Take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
adventure; take chances; gamble; take a chance; run a risk; risk; chance; hazard
Context example:
When you buy these stocks you are gambling
Hypernyms (to "chance" is one way to...):
assay; attempt; essay; seek; try (make an effort or attempt)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "chance"):
go for broke (risk everything in one big effort)
luck it; luck through (act by relying on one's luck)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Meaning:
Come upon, as if by accident; meet with
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Synonyms:
find; encounter; bump; chance; happen
Context examples:
We find this idea in Plato / I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here / She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
