(~s, chancing, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
If there is a ~ of something happening, it is possible that it will happen.
Do you think they have a ~ of beating Australia?...
This partnership has a good ~ of success...
The specialist who carried out the brain scan thought Tim’s ~s of survival were still slim...
There was really very little ~ that Ben would ever have led a normal life.
N-VAR: oft N of -ing/n, N that
2.
If you have a ~ to do something, you have the opportunity to do it.
The electoral council announced that all eligible people would get a ~ to vote...
I felt I had to give him a ~.
N-COUNT: usu N to-inf, N for n to-inf
3.
A ~ meeting or event is one that is not planned or expected.
...a ~ meeting.
ADJ: ADJ n
•
Chance is also a noun.
...a victim of ~ and circumstance.
N-UNCOUNT
4.
If you ~ to do something or ~ on something, you do it or find it although you had not planned or tried to. (FORMAL)
It was just then that I ~d to look round.
...Christopher Columbus, who ~d upon the Dominican Republic nearly 500 years ago.
VERB: V to-inf, V upon/on/across n
5.
If you ~ something, you do it even though there is a risk that you may not succeed or that something bad may happen.
Andy knew the risks. I cannot believe he would have ~d it...
He decided no assassin would ~ a shot from amongst that crowd.
= risk
VERB: V it , V n
6.
see also off-~
7.
Something that happens by ~ was not planned by anyone.
He had met Mr Maude by ~.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl
8.
You can use by any ~ when you are asking questions in order to find out whether something that you think might be true is actually true.
Are they by any ~ related?
= perhaps
PHRASE: PHR with cl (not first in cl)
9.
If you say that someone stands a ~ of achieving something, you mean that they are likely to achieve it. If you say that someone doesn’t stand a ~ of achieving something, you mean that they cannot possibly achieve it.
Being very good at science subjects, I stood a good ~ of gaining high grades...
Neither is seen as standing any ~ of snatching the leadership from him.
PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR of -ing
10.
When you take a ~, you try to do something although there is a large risk of danger or failure.
You take a ~ on the weather if you holiday in the UK...
From then on, they were taking no ~s...
PHRASE: V and N inflect