fluke /fluːk/ BrE AmE noun [countable] informal
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: Origin unknown. ]
something good that happens because of luck:
He agreed that the second goal was a fluke.
—fluky, flukey adjective :
a fluky win
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ luck noun [uncountable] when good or bad things happen to people by chance:
The game involves an element of luck as well as skill.
▪ chance noun [uncountable] the way that some things happen without being planned or caused by people:
I met her by chance on a plane to Tokyo.
|
Like all top athletes, he leaves nothing to chance, and trains harder than anybody.
▪ fortune noun [uncountable] luck and the effect it has on your life:
I had the good fortune to work with some great people.
|
The tour was dogged by ill fortune (=it had a lot of bad luck) from the start.
|
Fortune has shone on the team so far this season (=they have been lucky) .
▪ fate noun [uncountable] a power that some people believe controls what happens to people and which cannot be changed or stopped:
Fate dealt him a cruel blow with the death of his wife at the age of 32.
|
It must have been fate that brought them together, and fate that tore them apart.
|
We can’t just leave it to fate.
▪ providence noun [uncountable] a power which some people believe controls what happens in our lives and protects us:
Do you believe in divine providence (=God’s power to make things happen) ?
|
Her life was mapped out for her by providence.
▪ fluke noun [countable usually singular] informal something good that happens because of luck:
Their second goal was a fluke.
|
They won by a fluke.