coincidenceco‧in‧ci‧dence /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns $ koʊ-/ ●●○ noun 
‘I’m going to Appleby tomorrow.’ ‘What a coincidence! I’m going there too.’by coincidence By coincidence, John and I both ended up at Yale.sheer/pure coincidence (=completely by chance) It was sheer coincidence that we were staying in the same hotel.not a coincidence/more than coincidence (=not chance, but deliberate) I think it is more than coincidence that all the complaints have come from the same group of people.2[singular] formal when two ideas, opinions etc are the samecoincidence of a coincidence of interest between the mining companies and certain politiciansCOLLOCATIONSadjectivessheer/pure coincidence (=complete chance)· It was pure coincidence that we were on the same plane.mere coincidence (=only chance and nothing else)· Is it mere coincidence that they always seem to employ men?a happy/lucky/fortunate coincidence· It was just a happy coincidence that he was there too.an unfortunate coincidence· By a very unfortunate coincidence, she didn’t get either of his emails.a strange/curious coincidence· What a strange coincidence that you were both living in Bangkok at the same time.a remarkable/amazing/extraordinary coincidence· What an extraordinary coincidence meeting you here!phrasesit is a coincidence that· It was a remarkable coincidence that two people with the same name were staying at the hotel.it is not a/no coincidence that (=it is deliberate)· It is no coincidence that the Government made the announcement today.be more than (a) coincidence (=there is some other explanation)· When I saw him a third time, I realized it was more than just coincidence.a string/series/set of coincidences· The accident happened because of a string of unfortunate coincidences.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- By a strange coincidence the king was assassinated on the very spot where his grandfather had been killed.
- Hi Phil. What a coincidence -- we were just talking about you.
- It was a coincidence that three earthquakes happened across the world in one week.
- It was just a coincidence that we were in Paris at the same time.
- My mother is called Anna, and by coincidence my wife's mother is called Anna too.
- After all, the coincidence could not be expected to occur so neatly every 150 million years.
- It is regarded as a purely natural phenomenon which, by an unusual coincidence, occurs in the walls of their convent.
- We were all linked in a vast and rhythmic coincidence, a daisy chain of rumor, suspicion and secret wish.
- What was the probability - the unvarnished statistical likelihood - of such a coincidence?
Longman Language Activatorwhen something happens without being planned
if something happens by chance , it happens unexpectedly and seems to have no particular cause: · I met an old friend by chance on the train.· If by chance I'm not in when she calls, can you take a message?quite/purely/entirely by chance (=completely by chance): · Quite by chance, a TV crew was filming in the area when the accident happened.
if you do something by accident , you do it by chance and without intending to do it: · Fleming discovered penicillin almost by accident.· We ended up by accident on the wrong train and had to ride all the way to Montreal.· The trigger of the gun is locked so that it cannot be fired by accident.quite by accident (=completely by chance): · Lombardi heard about their plan quite by accident.
if you happen to do something , you do it by chance and not because of any particular reason or plan: · Justin forgot the map but I happened to have another one in the glove compartment.just happen to do something: · I'm sorry I didn't phone first -- I just happened to be passing and thought I'd drop in.· We're not related -- we just happen to have the same name.
use this to say that something happened by chance, when this is connected with what you have just been talking about: · This was the first time I had ever seen a panda, and as luck would have it, I had my camera with me.· As luck would have it, it rained the next day and the game was canceled.
a surprising situation in which two things happen that are similar or seem connected, but no-one planned or intended this to happen: · Hi Phil. What a coincidence -- we were just talking about you.by coincidence: · My mother is called Anna, and by coincidence my wife's mother is called Anna too.just a coincidence: · It was just a coincidence that we were in Paris at the same time.by a strange/sad/happy etc coincidence: · By a strange coincidence the king was assassinated on the very spot where his grandfather had been killed.
the way in which good or bad things seem to happen to people by chance: · There's no skill in a game like roulette, it's all luck.· Success is not a matter of chance - it takes a lot of hard work.pure luck/chance: · It was pure chance that we ran into each other on the street.leave something to chance (=let things happen by chance): · You must plan ahead. You can't leave these things to chance.
the power or force that is supposed to control the way everything happens, so that people cannot completely control their own lives: · It was fate that brought us together.· They saw themselves as victims of fate.by a twist of fate (=because fate made things happen in an unexpected way): · By a strange twist of fate the judge died on the very day that Cordell was executed.
something that happens by chance with no plan or intention: · I only met her again through a fortunate accident.· It is no accident that most of the country's outstanding public schools are in wealthy communities.
use this when you are talking about a situation that is surprising because by chance it is connected with something else that has been noticed or mentioned: · We've just seen a really beautiful house and, as it happens, it's for sale.· I needed to borrow a car, and as it happened Andrew wasn't using his.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives By a happy coincidence, James was also in town that weekend. It can’t be a mere coincidence that they left at the same time.
1[countable, uncountable] when two things happen at the same time, in the same place, or to the same people in a way that seems surprising or unusual: (=complete chance)· It was pure coincidence that we were on the same plane.
(=only chance and nothing else)· Is it mere coincidence that they always seem to employ men?
· It was just a happy coincidence that he was there too.
· By a very unfortunate coincidence, she didn’t get either of his emails.
· What a strange coincidence that you were both living in Bangkok at the same time.
· What an extraordinary coincidence meeting you here!
phrases· It was a remarkable coincidence that two people with the same name were staying at the hotel.
(=it is deliberate)· It is no coincidence that the Government made the announcement today.
(=there is some other explanation)· When I saw him a third time, I realized it was more than just coincidence.
· The accident happened because of a string of unfortunate coincidences.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES By a happy coincidence, James was also in town that weekend. It can’t be a mere coincidence that they left at the same time.· It was pure coincidence that I arrived on the same plane.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Was it relevant to his enquiry, or just a curious coincidence?· By curious coincidence, the suitable candidates are somehow always chaps.· Lagutin was the subject of a curious coincidence the following day.· It was just a curious coincidence that Hatton had been killed on the day following that of Mrs Fanshawe's regaining consciousness.
· This is either some magic geometry of which I know nothing or it is a happy coincidence.· Viable recycling depends on a happy coincidence of materials costs, labour costs and technology.· By a happy coincidence, the date was Richard Branson's birthday.· It was simply a happy coincidence that it sounded like an insult!
· Is it the magic of the goldfish or just coincidence?· Is it just coincidence that the previous chancellor was fond of a spritzer?· I expect it's just coincidence.
· I didn't tell him about the handbill I had found; indeed, I quickly dismissed that as a mere coincidence.· Another mere coincidence, say school officials, adding that Tarkanian was adamant about having such a watchdog on staff.· Logic suggests this can not be reduced to mere coincidence.· It has happened too often to me to be mere coincidence.
· It is pure coincidence that the date of his birthday was 1st April.· Whether it was pure coincidence or something deeper in his make-up, Fran had no idea.· Of course, I realised that it was an example of pure coincidence and that there could be nothing more to it.
· I forgot all about Svetlana until 1989 when a remarkable coincidence brought us together again.· Quite a remarkable coincidence, isn't it?· The identity of this woman is known by a remarkable coincidence.
· By sheer coincidence Kappa Crucis lies at the edge of the dark nebula known as the Coal Sack.· By sheer coincidence the three accounts mentioned had all placed significant orders just before the board meeting.
· By strange coincidence, two retiring Prime Ministers stayed at Chiswick House prior to their death, each at the age of fifty-seven.· Speakeasy 2001 It's the strangest coincidence.· Horne sniggered to himself. Strange coincidence, the same place where Whitton had met his death.
‘I’m going to Appleby tomorrow.’ ‘What a coincidence! I’m going there too.’by coincidence By coincidence, John and I both ended up at Yale.sheer/pure coincidence (=completely by chance) It was sheer coincidence that we were staying in the same hotel.not a coincidence/more than coincidence (=not chance, but deliberate) I think it is more than coincidence that all the complaints have come from the same group of people.2[singular] formal when two ideas, opinions etc are the samecoincidence of a coincidence of interest between the mining companies and certain politiciansCOLLOCATIONSadjectivessheer/pure coincidence (=complete chance)· It was pure coincidence that we were on the same plane.mere coincidence (=only chance and nothing else)· Is it mere coincidence that they always seem to employ men?a happy/lucky/fortunate coincidence· It was just a happy coincidence that he was there too.an unfortunate coincidence· By a very unfortunate coincidence, she didn’t get either of his emails.a strange/curious coincidence· What a strange coincidence that you were both living in Bangkok at the same time.a remarkable/amazing/extraordinary coincidence· What an extraordinary coincidence meeting you here!phrasesit is a coincidence that· It was a remarkable coincidence that two people with the same name were staying at the hotel.it is not a/no coincidence that (=it is deliberate)· It is no coincidence that the Government made the announcement today.be more than (a) coincidence (=there is some other explanation)· When I saw him a third time, I realized it was more than just coincidence.a string/series/set of coincidences· The accident happened because of a string of unfortunate coincidences.