I. chance 1 S1 W1 /tʃɑːns $ tʃæns/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Vulgar Latin cadentia 'fall' , from Latin cadere 'to fall' ]
1 . POSSIBILITY [uncountable and countable] the possibility that something will happen, especially something you want:
There’s always the chance that something will go wrong.
chance of
What are the team’s chances of success?
If we did move to London, I’d stand a much better chance (=have a much better chance) of getting a job.
There is little chance of her being found alive.
Chances are (=it is likely that) you’ll be fine.
2 . OPPORTUNITY [countable] a time or situation which you can use to do something that you want to do SYN opportunity
chance to do something
Ralph was waiting for a chance to introduce himself.
chance of
our only chance of escape
I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet.
If someone invited me over to Florida, I’d jump at the chance (=use the opportunity eagerly) .
3 . RISK take a chance to do something that involves risks:
The rope might break, but that’s a chance we’ll have to take.
After losing $20,000 on my last business venture, I’m not taking any chances this time.
take a chance on
He was taking a chance on a relatively new young actor.
He decided to take his chances in the boat.
4 . LIKELY TO SUCCEED sb’s chances how likely it is that someone will succeed:
Ryan will be a candidate in next month’s elections, but his chances are not good.
sb’s chances of doing something
England’s chances of winning the series have all but disappeared.
not fancy/not rate sb’s chances British English (=think someone is unlikely to succeed)
I don’t fancy their chances against Brazil.
► Do not say ‘someone’s chances to do something’. Say someone’s chances of doing something .
5 . LUCK [uncountable] the way some things happen without being planned or caused by people ⇨ fate
by chance
I bumped into her quite by chance in Oxford Street.
leave something to chance (=to not plan something but just hope that everything will happen as intended)
Dave had thought of every possibility, he was leaving nothing to chance.
pure/sheer/blind chance (=not at all planned)
It was pure chance that they ended up working in the same office in the same town.
As chance would have it, the one time I wanted to see her, she wasn’t in.
6 . by any chance spoken used to ask politely whether something is true:
Are you Mrs Grant, by any chance?
7 . any chance of ...? spoken used to ask whether you can have something or whether something is possible:
Any chance of a cup of coffee?
Any chance of you coming to the party on Saturday?
8 . be in with a chance if a competitor is in with a chance, it is possible that they will win:
I think we’re in with a good chance of beating them.
9 . no chance!/fat chance! spoken used to emphasize that you are sure something could never happen:
‘Maybe your brother would lend you the money?’ ‘Huh, fat chance!’
10 . on the off chance if you do something on the off chance, you do it hoping for a particular result, although you know it is not likely:
I didn’t really expect her to be at home. I just called on the off chance.
⇨ ↑ off-chance
11 . chance would be a fine thing! British English spoken used to mean that the thing you want to happen is very unlikely:
‘Do you think you’ll get married?’ ‘Chance would be a fine thing!’
⇨ game of chance at ↑ game 1 (15)
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ have/stand a chance (of something) (=it is possible you will do it)
I think you have a good chance of getting the job.
▪ give somebody a chance of doing something (=say how likely it is that they will do it)
He has been given a fifty-fifty chance of being fit for Sunday’s match.
▪ increase the chance of something
Certain foods increase the chance of heart disease.
▪ improve the chance of something
The book shows you how to improve your chance of success.
▪ reduce/lessen the chance of something
The talks were aimed at reducing the chance of war.
▪ ruin any chance of something (=make it impossible for something to happen)
Drinking alcohol can ruin any chance of weight loss.
▪ jeopardize any chance of something (=make something less likely to happen)
This could jeopardize any chance of a ceasefire.
■ adjectives
▪ a good chance (=when something is likely)
I think there is a good chance that he will say yes.
▪ every chance (=a good chance)
There’s every chance that the baby will survive.
▪ some chance
There’s some chance of snow later this week.
▪ a small/slight/slim chance
He only has a very small chance of being elected.
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There’s a slight chance of some sunshine in the west.
▪ no/little/not much chance
The prisoners knew there was little chance of escape.
▪ a one in three/four/ten etc chance (=used to say how likely something is)
People in their 30s have a one in 3,000 chance of getting the disease.
▪ a fair chance (=a fairly good chance)
If you work, you have a fair chance of passing the test.
▪ a sporting chance (=a fairly good chance)
The proposals had at least a sporting chance of being accepted.
▪ a fighting chance (=a small but real chance)
The Republican Party has a fighting chance at the next election.
▪ a fifty-fifty chance (=an equal chance that something will or will not happen)
I’d say there is a 50–50 chance that the deal will go through.
▪ an outside/a remote chance (=a very small chance)
He still has an outside chance of winning the championship.
▪ a million-to-one chance/a one in a million chance (=when something is extremely unlikely)
It must have been a million-to-one chance that we’d meet.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ get/have a chance to do something
I’d like a job in which I get the chance to travel.
▪ give somebody/offer/provide a chance
I was given the chance to play the main part in the play.
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Sport provides a chance for you to get outside with friends.
▪ take a chance (=accept an opportunity)
If I was offered the chance to be in the team, I’d take it.
▪ jump at a chance (=use an opportunity eagerly)
Ed jumped at the chance to earn some extra money.
▪ grab/seize a chance (=quickly use an opportunity)
As soon as she stopped speaking, I grabbed the chance to leave.
▪ miss/lose a chance (=not use an opportunity)
He missed a chance to score just before half time.
▪ throw away/pass up/turn down a chance (=not accept or use an opportunity)
Imagine throwing up a chance to go to America!
▪ welcome the chance to do something
I’d welcome the chance to discuss the problem with someone.
▪ deserve a chance
Every kid deserves a chance in life.
▪ blow a chance informal (=have a special opportunity and fail to use it)
He thought he’d blown his chance of happiness.
■ adjectives
▪ a second chance/another chance
The interview went badly, so I didn’t think they would give me a second chance.
▪ sb’s last chance
This is my last chance to try and pass the exam.
■ phrases
▪ the chance of a lifetime (=one that you are very unlikely to have again)
If you don’t decide soon, you’ll have missed the chance of a lifetime.
▪ now’s your chance spoken (=you have the opportunity to do something now)
You’re not working so now’s your chance to write a book.
▪ given the chance/given half a chance (=if there is an opportunity to do something)
Goats will eat anything, given half a chance.
• • •
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.
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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.
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The tour was dogged by ill fortune (=it had a lot of bad luck) from the start.
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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.
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It must have been fate that brought them together, and fate that tore them apart.
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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) ?
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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.
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They won by a fluke.
II. chance 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [transitive] to do something that you know involves a risk:
I wasn’t sure if I’d got quite enough petrol to get me home, but I decided to chance it.
We decided not to chance our luck in the storm.
She’d never played before, but she was ready to chance her arm (=take a risk by doing something which may fail) .
chance doing something
I decided to stay where I was. I couldn’t chance being seen.
2 . [intransitive] literary to happen in a way which is not expected and not planned
chance to do something
She chanced to be passing when I came out of the house.
It chanced that we both went to Paris that year.
chance on/upon/across somebody/something phrasal verb formal
to find something or meet someone when you are not expecting to:
Henry chanced upon some valuable coins in the attic.
III. chance 3 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
not planned or expected SYN accidental
chance meeting/encounter/event etc
A chance meeting with a journalist changed everything.
A chance remark by one of his colleagues got him thinking.