chance

a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances

• “the holiday gave us the opportunity to visit Washington”
• “now is your chance”

an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another

• “bad luck caused his downfall”
• “we ran into each other by pure chance”

a risk involving danger

• “you take a chance when you let her drive”

a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible

• “the probability that an unbiased coin will fall with the head up is 0.5”

occurring or appearing or singled out by chance

• “their accidental meeting led to a renewal of their friendship”
• “seek help from casual passers-by”
• “a casual meeting”
• “a chance occurrence”

be the case by chance

• “I chanced to meet my old friend in the street”

take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

• “When you buy these stocks you are gambling”

come upon, as if by accident; meet with

• “We find this idea in Plato”
• “I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here”
• “She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day”