- chance
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 possibilityADJECTIVE▪ excellent, good, high, real, strong▪
There is a very real chance that the film will win an award.
▪ decent, fair, fighting, legitimate, realistic, reasonable, solid, sporting▪There's a fair chance that nobody will come to the talk.
▪ little, the merest, million-to-one, minimal, outside, remote, slender, slight, slim▪There was only a million-to-one chance of it happening.
▪As long as there is an outside chance, we will go for it.
▪ fifty-fifty, one-in-three, etc., 10%, 20%, etc.▪They have a 90% chance of success.
▪ zero (esp. AmE)▪He had zero chance of survival.
▪ survival▪What are his survival chances?
▪ election, electoral (esp. BrE)▪ play-off (AmE)VERB + CHANCE▪ give sb▪The doctors gave him (= said that he had) little chance of surviving the night.
▪ be in with, have, stand▪After a poor start, they are now in with a chance of winning.
▪He doesn't stand a chance of winning against such an experienced player.
▪ assess, rate▪How do you rate our chances of finding her?
▪ fancy (BrE)▪I don't fancy our chances of getting there on time.
▪ boost, enhance, improve, increase, maximize▪ compromise, decrease, hurt, jeopardize, lessen, minimize, prejudice, reduce, ruin, scupper (BrE, informal), spoil▪ destroy, eliminate, end, kill▪It was a mistake which eliminated any chance of an Australian victory.
▪ risk▪He didn't want to risk the chance of being discovered.
PREPOSITION▪ by any chance▪Are you by any chance Mr Ludd?
▪ chance of▪The missing climber's chances of survival are slim.
▪ chance for▪the variety with the best chance for success
PHRASES▪ fat chance (informal)▪Fat chance (= there is no chance) of him helping you!
▪ have every chance▪She has every chance of passing the exam if she works hard.
▪ no chance!▪‘Will he lend us his car?’ ‘No chance!’
▪ not a snowball's chance in hell (informal)▪There isn't a snowball's chance in hell (= there is no chance) that I'll wear that thing!
▪ on the off chance (= just in case)▪I rang the company just on the off chance that they might have a vacancy.
2 opportunityADJECTIVE▪ equal, fair, good, great, ideal, wonderful▪She played left-handed to give her opponent a fair chance.
▪This is the ideal chance for him to show his ability.
▪ big▪This is your big chance, so grab it with both hands.
▪ golden▪He had wasted a golden chance to make history.
▪ once-in-a-lifetime, rare, unique▪ only▪He realized that this might be his only chance to save himself.
▪ final, last, second▪The teacher gave her one last chance to prove she could behave.
▪There are no second chances in this business.
▪ educational, life▪The new college is intended to improve the life chances of children in the inner city.
▪ clear, clear-cut, save (AmE), scoring (all sports)▪He blew four of his seven save chances.
… OF CHANCE▪ element▪There is always an element of chance in buying a used car.
VERB + CHANCE▪ get, have▪I finally had the chance to meet my hero.
▪ deserve▪He deserves the chance to give his side of the story.
▪ enjoy, relish, welcome▪I would welcome the chance to give my opinion.
▪ afford (sb), give sb, offer (sb), provide (sb with)▪ deny sb▪No child should be denied the chance of growing up in a family.
▪ await, wait for▪ create, make (sports)▪The team created several clear chances but failed to score.
▪ see, spot▪She spotted her chance of making a quick profit.
▪ grab, grasp, jump at, seize, take▪Travis had left the door open—she seized her chance and was through it like a shot.
▪Take every chance that comes your way.
▪ blow (informal), forfeit, lose, miss, pass up, squander, throw away, turn down, waste▪They blew their chance to go second in the league.
▪I wouldn't pass up the chance of working for them.
CHANCE + VERB▪ arise, come, come your way▪When the chance came to go to Paris, she jumped at it.
PREPOSITION▪ chance at▪Katie was his last real chance at happiness.
▪He had been given a new chance at life.
PHRASES▪ given the chance▪Given the chance, I'd retire tomorrow.
▪ half a chance▪The dog always runs off when it gets half a chance.
▪ let a chance slip, let a chance slip away▪If she let this chance slip, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
3 riskVERB + CHANCE▪ take▪The guidebook didn't mention the hotel, but we decided to take a chance.
PREPOSITION▪ chance on▪The manager took a chance on the young goalkeeper.
▪ chance with▪The police were taking no chances with the protesters.
4 luck/fortuneADJECTIVE▪ mere, pure, sheer▪ random▪ happy, lucky▪By a happy chance he bumped into an old friend on the plane.
▪ unluckyVERB + CHANCE▪ leave sth to▪Leaving nothing to chance, he delivered the letter himself.
PREPOSITION▪ by chance▪The police came upon the hideout purely by chance.
▪ due to chance▪The results could simply be due to chance.
▪ through chance▪I got most answers right through sheer chance.
PHRASES▪ a game of chance▪Chess is not a game of chance.
▪ take your chances (= take a risk in the hope that things will turn out well)▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}He took his chances and jumped into the water.
verb{{Roman}}III.{{/Roman}}adj.Chance is used with these nouns: ↑acquaintance, ↑conversation, ↑discovery, ↑encounter, ↑meeting, ↑mutation, ↑remark
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
