by chance
Without any cause or reason; by accident; accidentally.
Tom met Bill by chance.
The apple fell by chance on Bobby's head.
chance it
To be willing to risk an action whose outcome is uncertain.
"Should we take the boat out in such stormy weather?" Jim asked. "We can chance it," Tony replied. "We have enough experience."
chance on
chance upon
To happen to find or meet; find or meet by accident.
On our vacation we chanced upon an interesting antique store.
Mary dropped her ring in the yard, and Mother chanced on it as she was raking.
fat chance
Little or no possibility; almost no chance.
A high school team would have a fat chance of beating a strong college team.
Jane is pretty and popular; you will have a fat chance of getting a date with her.
fighting chance
A chance that necessitates struggle and courage; a slim chance.
The doctor told the family that Jack had a fighting chance to recover.
Our business lost a lot of money, but we have a fighting chance to stage a comeback.
half a chance
An opportunity; a reasonable chance.
Just give yourself half a chance and you will quickly get used to your new job.
have a snowball's chance in hell
To be condemned to failure; enjoy a zero chance of success.
Pessimists used to think that we had a snowball's chance in hell to put a man on the moon; yet we did it in July, 1969.
stand a chance
stand a show
To have a possibility or opportunity; be likely to do or get something.
Fred doesn't stand a chance of being elected.
We stand a good chance of seeing Mary at the party.
The New York baseball team stands a good chance of winning the World Series this year.
Because John doesn’t have any previous work experience, he doesn’t stand a chance of getting that job.
The woman injured in the serious train accident doesn’t stand much chance of surviving.