ac·ci·dent
Pronounced:
/ˈæksədənt/
Function:
nounInflected forms:
plural ac·ci·dentsMeaning:
[count] 1 : a sudden event (such as a crash) that is not planned or intended and that causes damage or injury ▪ We got in a car accident. = We had a car accident. ▪ a traffic accident ▪ a fatal accident ▪ a motorcycle accident ▪ He was injured in an accident at work. ▪ The accident happened when her car slid on a patch of ice. ▪ Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident. ▪ “I'm sorry that I broke the bowl.” “That's OK. It was just an accident.” = “That's OK. Accidents will happen.” ◊An accident waiting to happen is a person or thing that is dangerous or unsafe. ▪ My brother is the clumsiest person I know. He's just an accident waiting to happen.
2 : an event that is not planned or intended : an event that occurs by chance ▪ Their meeting was an accident. ▪ It is just an accident that they arrived when they did. ▪ She says that her pregnancy was an accident. ▪ His wealth is a mere accident of birth. [=he is wealthy only because he was born into a wealthy family] ▪ He says that no one is to blame for his illness. It was just an accident of nature. [=something that happened naturally] ▪ It is no accident that the assistant he hired is so good-looking. [=he deliberately chose a good-looking person to be his assistant]
2 : an event that is not planned or intended : an event that occurs by chance ▪ Their meeting was an accident. ▪ It is just an accident that they arrived when they did. ▪ She says that her pregnancy was an accident. ▪ His wealth is a mere accident of birth. [=he is wealthy only because he was born into a wealthy family] ▪ He says that no one is to blame for his illness. It was just an accident of nature. [=something that happened naturally] ▪ It is no accident that the assistant he hired is so good-looking. [=he deliberately chose a good-looking person to be his assistant]
by accident
: in a way that is not planned or intended ▪ They met by accident. [=by chance] ▪ She says that she became pregnant by accident. [=unintentionally] ▪ Scientists discovered the vaccine almost/quite/entirely by accident. ▪ Did it happen by accident [=accidentally] or by design?