Meaning & use
accident
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Meanings
nouncountable
An unexpected event, especially one causing injury or damage, that no one planned.
Grammar: Countable in reports and news: an accident, several accidents.
Patterns
- have an accident
- car accident
- road accident
- accident report
A minor accident blocked one lane of the motorway.
No one was hurt in the kitchen accident.
The company filed an accident report within twenty-four hours.
nounsingular
Something that happens by chance rather than by plan, especially in the phrase by accident.
Grammar: Common in the fixed phrase by accident, contrasted with on purpose.
Patterns
- by accident
- discover something by accident
- happen by accident
- no accident
I deleted the message by accident while clearing my inbox.
They met by accident at a crowded station.
It was no accident that the two proposals matched.
Word forms
| plural | accidents |
|---|
Common combinations
- have an accident
- He had an accident on the stairs and bruised his wrist.
- traffic accident
- A traffic accident delayed buses across the bridge.
- by accident
- The password was shared by accident during the call.
- accident insurance
- The policy includes accident insurance for volunteers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- crash
- Specifically a collision, often involving vehicles; accident is broader.
- mishap
- Suggests a smaller, less serious accident.
- incident
- Neutral and may not imply harm or blame; accident often implies damage or unintended harm.
- collision
- Means one thing struck another; an accident may have no collision.
Opposites
Word family
- accidental adjective
- Happening by chance or without intention.
- accidentally adverb
- In an accidental way; by mistake.
- accident-prone adjective
- Often having accidents or mishaps.
Commonly confused: accident or incident?
accident vs incident
Incident is neutral for an event; accident usually implies something unintended and often harmful.
Practice
Choose the phrase that best means unintentionally: The email was sent ___.
Choose one answer.
By accident means unintentionally. By design, on purpose, and as planned all describe intention, so they contradict the context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “accident”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.