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.