chance

English Online Dictionary. What means chance‎? What does chance mean?

English

Alternative forms

• chaunce (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃæns/
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɛəns], [t͡ʃʰeəns]
  • (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰæns], [t͡ʃʰans]
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰæːns], [t͡ʃʰɛːns]
• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɑːns/
  • (Received Pronunciation, Cockney) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɑːns]
  • (Cultivated Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰäːns], [t͡ʃʰɐːns]
  • (India) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃɑːns]
• Rhymes: -ɑːns, -æns

Etymology 1

From Middle English chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadere (“to fall, to die, to happen, occur”). Doublet of cadence and cadenza.

Noun

chance (countable and uncountable, plural chances)

1. (countable) An opportunity or possibility.
2. (uncountable) Random occurrence; luck.

   Synonyms: fortune, hap; see also Thesaurus:luck

3. (countable) The probability of something happening.

4. (in plural as chances) probability; possibility.

   Synonyms: eventuality; see also Thesaurus:possibility
5. (countable, archaic) What befalls or happens to a person; their lot or fate.

   Synonyms: destiny, doom; see also Thesaurus:fate

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Icelandic: séns
• → Japanese: チャンス

Translations

Adjective

chance (not comparable)

1. Happening by chance, casual.

Translations

Adverb

chance (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Perchance; perhaps.

Etymology 2

From Middle English chancen, chauncen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

chance (third-person singular simple present chances, present participle chancing, simple past and past participle chanced)

1. (archaic, intransitive) To happen by chance, to occur.
2. (archaic, transitive) To befall; to happen to.
3. To try or risk.
4. To discover something by chance.
5. (Belize) To rob, cheat or swindle someone.
6. (Nigeria) To take an opportunity from someone; to cut a queue.

Synonyms

• (to happen) come to pass, occur, transpire; See also Thesaurus:happen
• (to happen to)
• (to try) test
• (to discover something) come across, come on, come upon, encounter, stumble upon
• (to cheat someone) deceive, fool, trick; See also Thesaurus:deceive

Derived terms

• bechance
• chance on
• chance one's arm
• chance upon
• unchanced

Translations

References

• “chance”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “chance”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• chacne, canche, Canche

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadō (“I fall, I die”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɕɑŋsə]

Noun

chance c (singular definite chancen, plural indefinite chancer)

1. A chance

Antonyms

• risiko

Franco-Provençal

Alternative forms

• chonse, chanse, sha͟nche, sha͟ncha (Bressan)
• tsanthe (Fribourgeois)

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia. Doublet of chenci.

Noun

chance f (plural chances) (ORB, broad)

1. chance, luck

Derived terms

• chanciox

References

• chance in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• chance in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Further information

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “cadĕre”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 2: C Q K, page 27

French

Etymology

From Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), inherited from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”). Doublet of cadence, a borrowing from Italian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɑ̃s/
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun

chance f (plural chances)

1. chance

2. luck

Antonyms

• adversité
• guigne (familiar)
• malchance
• malheur

Derived terms

Related terms

• choir

Descendants

Further reading

• “chance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Alternative forms

• scians

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance. Doublet of cadenza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^*/ˈʃans/
• Rhymes: -ans

Noun

chance f (invariable)

1. chance (possibility of a certain outcome)

Middle English

Noun

chance

1. Alternative form of chaunce

Old French

Noun

chance oblique singular, f (oblique plural chances, nominative singular chance, nominative plural chances)

1. Alternative form of cheance

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance. Doublet of cadência.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: chan‧ce

Noun

chance f (plural chances)

1. probability
2. chance, opportunity

   Synonym: oportunidade

References

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance or, in Mexico, from English chance. Doublet of cadencia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˈt͡ʃanθe/ [ˈt͡ʃãn̟.θe]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /ˈt͡ʃanse/ [ˈt͡ʃãn.se]
  • Rhymes: -anθe
  • Rhymes: -anse
  • Syllabification: chan‧ce
• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃans/ [ˈt͡ʃãns]
  • Rhymes: -ans

Noun

chance m or f same meaning (plural chances)

1. chance
2. (colloquial, Guatemala, El Salvador) a job; a position; a post of employment

Derived terms

Conjunction

chance

1. (Mexico) maybe, perchance, perhaps or possibly

   Synonyms: a lo mejor, quizá, quizás, tal vez

Further reading

• “chance”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• “chance”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010