OPPORTUNITY

[noun] - an occasion or situation which makes it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do, or the possibility of doing somethingIf I have an opportunity today, I'll take your books back to the library for you. [C]There are far more opportunities now for school-leavers than there were fifty years ago. [C]I've been offered the opportunity of working in India for a year, but I'm not sure whether to take it or not. [C]When he was given the opportunity of going to college, he grabbed/seized it with both hands. [C]The exhibition is a unique opportunity to see her later work. [C + to infinitive]An ankle injury meant she missed the opportunity to run in the qualifying heat. [C + to infinitive](formal) Please contact us at the earliest opportunity (= as soon as possible). [C]He goes fishing at every opportunity (= as often as possible). [C]Opportunity is the possibility of doing something that you want or have to do.I used to enjoy going to the theatre, but I don't get much opportunity now.A four-hour train journey offered ample opportunity for reflection.Critical acclaim of her first play opened up a world of opportunity for her (= made it possible for her to do a lot of advantageous things).(ANZ) An opportunity shop (informal op-shop) is a shop which is run by an organization that makes money to help people who are ill or hungry or who have nowhere to live, and which sells clothes and goods that have been previously owned.