Meaning & use
accidents
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“accidents” is a form of “accident”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Unplanned events that cause damage, injury, or death.
Grammar: Countable; use with numbers or quantifiers: two accidents, several accidents.
Patterns
- have an accident
- be involved in an accident
- a car accident
The company reported three serious accidents at the factory last year.
Most accidents happen when people are tired or in a hurry.
She was late because of an accident on the highway.
nouncountable
Events that happen by chance, without being planned.
Grammar: Often used in the phrase "by accident" meaning without intention.
Patterns
- by accident
- a happy accident
Their meeting was a happy accident that led to a long friendship.
I found the old photo by accident while cleaning the attic.
Word forms
| singular | accident |
|---|
Common combinations
- car accident
- He was hurt in a car accident last winter.
- by accident
- I deleted the file by accident.
- accident insurance
- The policy includes accident insurance for travel.
- accident report
- Please file an accident report with the manager.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- accidental adjective
- Happening by chance or without intention.
- accidentally adverb
- In a way that is not planned or intended.
Commonly confused: accidents or incident?
accidents vs incident
An incident is any event, often unpleasant but not necessarily damaging; an accident always involves damage or injury.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is "by accident" with no article; "by an accident" and "on accident" are not standard in British English, though "on accident" is heard informally in American English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “accidents”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.