chance upon

English

WOTD – 7 September 2021

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɑːns əˌpɒn/, /ˈt͡ʃæns-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃæns əˌpɑn/, /-ˌpɔn/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

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

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To find (someone or something) by chance.

   Synonyms: chance on, come across, happen on, stumble upon

Translations

to find (someone or something) by chance

• Greek: τυχαίνω (el) (tychaíno)
• Hungarian: belebotlik (hu), ráakad (hu), rábukkan (hu)
• Maori: matawhaia, tūpono

Further reading

• “chance upon/on/across” under “chance, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.