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on the off chance

on the off chance
O o

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [on, awn stressed th ee awf, of chans, chahns]
    • /ɒn, ɔn stressed ði ɔf, ɒf tʃæns, tʃɑns/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [on, awn stressed th ee awf, of chans, chahns]
    • /ɒn, ɔn stressed ði ɔf, ɒf tʃæns, tʃɑns/

Definitions of on the off chance words

  • noun on the off chance the absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled: often personified or treated as a positive agency: Chance governs all. 1
  • noun on the off chance luck or fortune: a game of chance. 1
  • noun on the off chance a possibility or probability of anything happening: a fifty-percent chance of success. 1
  • noun on the off chance an opportune or favorable time; opportunity: Now is your chance. 1
  • noun on the off chance Baseball. an opportunity to field the ball and make a put-out or assist. 1
  • noun on the off chance a risk or hazard: Take a chance. 1
See all 17 definitions of on the off chance

Information block about the term

Origin of on the off chance

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
1250-1300; Middle English < Old French chance, cheance < Vulgar Latin *cadentia a befalling, happening; see cadenza

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for On the off chance

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of On the off chance

on the off chance popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

on the off chance usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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