Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

chance noun

¹ possibility

ADJ. excellent, good, high, strong | fair, fighting, sporting, realistic, reasonable There's a fair chance that nobody will come to the talk. | little, the merest, million-to-one, minimal, outside, slender, slim, slight 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, -four, etc., 10, 20, etc. per cent They have a 90 per cent chance of success. | survival What are his survival chances? | election, electoral

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 the league. 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 I don't fancy our chances of getting there on time. | boost, enhance, improve, increase, maximize | compromise, jeopardize, lessen, minimize, prejudice, reduce, ruin, scupper, spoil

PREP. by any ~ Are you by any chance Mr Ludd? | ~ of The missing climber's chances of survival are slim.

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!’ | on the off chance (= just in case) I rang the firm just on the off chance that they might have a vacancy.

² opportunity

ADJ. 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?grab it with both hands. | once-in-a-lifetime | 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, scoring (sport)

QUANT. 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. | welcome I would welcome the chance to give my opinion. | give sb, offer (sb), provide (sb with) | deny sb No child should be denied the chance of growing up in a family. | wait for | create, make (sport) The team created several clear chances but failed to score. | 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, 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 up, come your way When the chance came up to go to Paris, she jumped at it.

PHRASES given the chance Given the chance, I'd stop work tomorrow. | half a chance The dog always runs off when it gets half a chance. | let a chance slip (by) If she let this chance slip, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

³ risk

VERB + CHANCE take The guide book didn't mention the hotel, but we decided to take a chance.

PREP. ~ on The manager took a chance on the young goalkeeper. | ~ with The police were taking no chances with the protesters.

⁴ luck/fortune

ADJ. pure, sheer | happy, lucky By a happy chance he bumped into an old friend on the plane. | unlucky

VERB + CHANCE leave sth to Leaving nothing to chance, he delivered the letter himself.

PREP. by ~ The police came upon the hideout purely by chance. | due to ~ The results could simply be due to chance. | through ~ 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) He took his chances and jumped into the water.