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
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
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
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