chance happening

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   An event that occurs by accident or luck, with no plan or cause.

   Grammar: Countable: use 'a' or a plural: a chance happening, several chance happenings.

   Patterns

   • a chance happening
   • by chance happening

   Their meeting was a pure chance happening; neither had planned to be there.

   The discovery of the vaccine was a chance happening that changed medicine.

   Life is full of chance happenings that we cannot control.

2. 2noununcountable

   The occurrence of events randomly, without deliberate design.

   Grammar: Uncountable: used without 'a' or a plural when referring to the general idea.

   Patterns

   • by chance happening
   • through chance happening

   Some philosophers believe the universe is the result of chance happening.

   The theory explains the origin of life as chance happening rather than design.

Word forms

Common combinations

a pure chance happening

Winning the lottery is a pure chance happening.

by chance happening

They met by chance happening at the airport.

mere chance happening

It was a mere chance happening, not fate.

chance happening of events

The novel describes the chance happening of events in a small town.

Synonyms and how they differ

coincidence

Coincidence is more common and specifically means two things happening at the same time by chance, not just any random event.

accident

Accident often implies something unfortunate or unintended, while chance happening is neutral.

fluke

Fluke is informal and often suggests a surprising or lucky outcome, whereas chance happening is more formal and general.

Opposites

Word family

chance noun

The possibility that something will happen, or an opportunity.

happening noun

An event or occurrence, especially one that is unusual or interesting.

Commonly confused: chance happening or chance meeting?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “chance happening”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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