- accident
- noun1 unexpected event that causes damage/injuryADJECTIVE▪ bad, dreadful (esp. BrE), horrible, horrific (esp. BrE), major, nasty, serious, terrible, tragic, unfortunate▪ deadly (AmE), fatal▪
a fatal road accident
▪ minor, slight, small▪ bizarre, freak▪Their boat sank in a freak accident.
▪ hit-and-run▪ industrial, nuclear▪ auto (AmE), automobile (AmE), bike, car, highway (AmE), motor (BrE), motorbike (BrE), motorcycle, motor-vehicle, road, traffic▪The woman was involved in a road traffic accident. (BrE)
▪ aircraft, airplane (AmE), plane (esp. AmE)▪ boating, climbing, hunting, riding, skiingVERB + ACCIDENT▪ be involved in, have, meet with (BrE), suffer▪She met with an accident while skiing in Colorado.
▪ cause▪ avoid, prevent▪ survive▪ recover fromACCIDENT + VERB▪ happen, occur, take placeACCIDENT + NOUN▪ black spot (BrE)▪ victim▪ prevention▪ investigation, report▪ rate, statisticsPREPOSITION▪ in an/the accidentPHRASES▪ an accident involving▪He was badly hurt in an accident involving two cars and a van.
▪ an accident waiting to happen (= a situation which is likely to become dangerous)▪ the scene of the accident▪The ambulance took only six minutes to reach the scene of the accident.
2 sth not planned in advanceADJECTIVE▪ mere, pure, sheer▪By pure accident he had come across the very man who could solve the mystery.
▪ happy▪ historicalPREPOSITION▪ by accident▪We met by accident at the airport.
PHRASES▪ an accident of birth (esp. BrE)▪ an accident of history▪It's just an accident of history that the city became part of the Soviet Union.
▪ be no accident that …▪It is no accident that men fill most of the top jobs.
▪ by accident or design▪It happened, whether by accident or design, that Steve and I were the last two people to leave.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
