by chance

Prepositional phrase

1. Unexpectedly, accidentally; without foreplanning.
   • I stumbled across the exit by chance.
   • [...] Yojo had told him two or three times over, and strongly insisted upon it everyway, that instead of our going together among the whaling-fleet in harbor, and in concert selecting our craft; instead of this, I say, Yojo earnestly enjoined that the selection of the ship should rest wholly with...1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 16, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 75

   Synonyms:

   by accident

2. Possibly; perhaps.
   • Are you by chance looking for the exit?
   • If by chance you notice the fine, almost sweet maltiness of the aroma, and the brisk, dry, mineral quality of the flavors, even better.2007 January 24, Eric Asimov, “Quiet Cover for a Vital Brew”, in New York Times

   Synonyms:

   by any chance