by chance

chance  (chns)

n.

1.

a. The unknown and unpredictable element in happenings that seems to have no assignable cause.

b. A force assumed to cause events that cannot be foreseen or controlled; luck: Chance will determine the outcome.

2. The likelihood of something happening; possibility or probability. Often used in the plural: Chances are good that you will win. Is there any chance of rain?

3. An accidental or unpredictable event.

4. A favorable set of circumstances; an opportunity: a chance to escape.

5. A risk or hazard; a gamble: took a chance that the ice would hold me.

6. Games A raffle or lottery ticket.

7. Baseball An opportunity to make a putout or an assist that counts as an error if unsuccessful.

adj.

Caused by or ascribable to chance; unexpected, random, or casual: a chance encounter; a chance result.

v. chanced, chanc·ing, chanc·es

v.intr.

To come about by chance; occur: It chanced that the train was late that day.

v.tr.

To take the risk or hazard of: not willing to chance it.

Phrasal Verb:

chance on/upon

To find or meet accidentally; happen upon: While in Paris we chanced on two old friends.

Idioms:

by chance

1. Without plan; accidentally: They met by chance on a plane.

2. Possibly; perchance: Is he, by chance, her brother?

on the off chance

In the slight hope or possibility.

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[Middle English, unexpected event, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia, from Latin cadns, cadent-, present participle of cadere, to fall, befall; see kad- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: chance, random, casual, haphazard, desultory
These adjectives apply to what is determined not by deliberation but by accident. Chance stresses lack of premeditation: a chance meeting with a friend.
Random implies the absence of a specific pattern or objective: took a random guess.
Casual often suggests an absence of due concern: a casual observation.
Haphazard implies a carelessness or a willful leaving to chance: a haphazard plan of action.
Desultory suggests a shifting about from one thing to another that reflects a lack of method: a desultory conversation. See Also Synonyms at happen, opportunity.

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	by chance - through chance, "To sleep, perchance to dream.." perchance archaicism, archaism - the use of an archaic expression
	2.	by chance - by accident; "betrayed by a word haply overheard" by luck, haply
	3.	by chance - without advance planning; "they met accidentally" accidentally, unexpectedly, circumstantially