26984 words

coincidences

3 definitions • 10 examples
1
an occasion when two or more similar things happen at the same time, especially in a way that is unlikely and surprising:

Examples:

what a coincidence You chose exactly the same wallpaper as us - what a coincidence!
Is it just a coincidence that the wife of the man who ran the competition won first prize?
a series of strange/amazing coincidences
2
chance or luck:

Examples:

by coincidence Just by coincidence, I met my old schoolmate again 50 years later.
[ + that ] It was sheer coincidence that I remembered his phone number.
pure coincidence By pure coincidence, both books were published on the same day.
sheer coincidence It's sheer coincidence that I walked along the same street and into the same bar as her.
strange coincidence By some strange coincidence, he was passing the house just when it happened.
3
an occasion when two or more things happen at the same time, esp. in a way that is unexpected or unlikely, or the unlikely fact of such things happening at the same time:

Examples:

[ C ] Was our meeting here a coincidence?
[ U ] By coincidence, both teams happen to be coached by men.

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