COINCIDENCE


Meaning of COINCIDENCE in English

co ‧ in ‧ ci ‧ dence /kəʊˈɪnsəd ə ns, kəʊˈɪnsɪd ə ns $ koʊ-/ BrE AmE noun

1 . [uncountable and countable] when two things happen at the same time, in the same place, or to the same people in a way that seems surprising or unusual ⇨ coincide , coincidental :

‘I’m going to Appleby tomorrow.’ ‘What a coincidence! I’m going there too.’

by coincidence

By coincidence, John and I both ended up at Yale.

sheer/pure coincidence (=completely by chance)

It was sheer coincidence that we were staying in the same hotel.

not a coincidence/more than coincidence (=not chance, but deliberate)

I think it is more than coincidence that all the complaints have come from the same group of people.

2 . [singular] formal when two ideas, opinions etc are the same

coincidence of

a coincidence of interest between the mining companies and certain politicians

• • •

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives

▪ sheer/pure coincidence (=complete chance)

It was pure coincidence that we were on the same plane.

▪ mere coincidence (=only chance and nothing else)

Is it mere coincidence that they always seem to employ men?

▪ a happy/lucky/fortunate coincidence

It was just a happy coincidence that he was there too.

▪ an unfortunate coincidence

By a very unfortunate coincidence, she didn’t get either of his emails.

▪ a strange/curious coincidence

What a strange coincidence that you were both living in Bangkok at the same time.

▪ a remarkable/amazing/extraordinary coincidence

What an extraordinary coincidence meeting you here!

■ phrases

▪ it is a coincidence that

It was a remarkable coincidence that two people with the same name were staying at the hotel.

▪ it is not a/no coincidence that (=it is deliberate)

It is no coincidence that the Government made the announcement today.

▪ be more than (a) coincidence (=there is some other explanation)

When I saw him a third time, I realized it was more than just coincidence.

▪ a string/series/set of coincidences

The accident happened because of a string of unfortunate coincidences.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.