hapchance
Syllables: hap·chanceUK/ˈhapˌtʃɑːns/US/ˈhæpˌtʃæn(t)s/
hapchance noun: chance, luck, fortune; the random or unplanned quality of an event. (frequently in by hapchance).
Noun
hapchance (countable and uncountable, plural hapchances)
- Chance, luck, fortune; the random or unplanned quality of an event. (frequently in by hapchance)
- For the next few minutes he rather neglected the game, the countess absorbing his entire regard. For, by hapchance, the 25 won for her; and, as she took the thirty-five sovereigns, the woman's color deepened, her lips parted, her eyes glowed, and for the moment she looked radiantly happy.1905, Louis Joseph Vance, Terence O'Rourke, Gentleman Adventurer, New York
- Duncan and Betty took an hour off at the bank the following morning, and the pair of them, after wandering with evident aimlessness round the town, drifted as it were on the tide of hap-chance into Graham's drug-store.1910, Louis Joseph Vance, The Fortune Hunter, novelized from the play by Winchell Smith, New York: Dodd, Mead and Company
- Synonyms:
- chance, hap, happenchance, happenstance, luck
- A chance occurrence; an accident, a coincidence.
- […]and yet content to dote upon a line, or the hapchance of a sounding word.1953, Richard Llewellyn, A Flame for Doubting Thomas, New York: Macmillan
- […]a shrewd job, made to look exactly like an evil hapchance of the woods.1954, William Byron Mowery, Tales of the Ozarks, New York: Bouregy & Curl
- Synonyms:
- fluke, happenchance, happenstance
Adjective
hapchance (not comparable)
- Happening or met with by chance; chance, casual, random, haphazard.
- He was close upon the farther end when—upon a hapchance impulse—he glanced over the nearest guard-rail, down at the bed of the creek.1907, Louis Joseph Vance, The Brass Bowl, Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
- Whether he is right or wrong in his generalization, he has prepared a serious indictment against the hapchance druggists who make up his prescriptions.1924 July 30, Herbert Corey, “Manhattan Days and Nights”, in Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
- Synonyms:
- adventitious, casual, chance, fortuitous, haphazard, random
Adverb
hapchance (not comparable)
- By chance; at random; haphazardly.
- As it happened, the thing worked with disconcerting abruptness as his untrained fingers fell hapchance on the spring.1908, Louis Joseph Vance, The Black Bag, Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
- […]are yet not at the same time of so vigorous and lofty an intellect as to live orderly, with calmness and constancy, but are carried hapchance by mere buoyancy of spirits and are deserted by everything like stability.1927, C. Spearman, The Abilities of Man: Their Nature and Measurement, New York, London: Macmillan, page 60
- Synonyms:
- by chance, haphazardly, haply, perchance
Examples of hapchance in a sentence
- Here are two incidents that by hapchance are revealed[…]1913 November 17, “Darkness Hides Some Queer Things”, in The Lake County Times, Hammond, Ind., page 1:
- It could not actually be called a conversation, for he spoke in monologue, usually at some length, and more as though by hapchance and at random.1926, O. G. Sonneck, editor, Beethoven: Impressions by his Contemporaries, New York: G. Schirmer, page 160:
- A little brush, two horses meeting by hapchance, was one thing, but a downright, bald-faced[…]1969, Jessamyn West, Except for Me and Thee, New York: Harcourt, Brace & World:
- It's all hapchance, and I think God Himself keeps pretty clear[…]1975, Jessamyn West, The Massacre at Fall Creek, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich:
Synonyms of hapchance
5 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of hapchance
| plural | hapchances |
|---|---|
| alternative form | hap-chance |
Origin of hapchance
hap (“luck, fortune, chance”) + chance (“chance, fortune”): a tautological compound, in which both elements independently mean “chance”. Compare the similarly redundant haphazard (hap + hazard), and the synonymous happenchance and happenstance. Recorded from 1866, but attested chiefly in literary prose of the 20th century.
Questions about hapchance
- What does hapchance mean?
- Hapchance means chance, luck, fortune; the random or unplanned quality of an event. (frequently in by hapchance).
- How do you use hapchance in a sentence?
- Here are two incidents that by hapchance are revealed[…]
- What part of speech is hapchance?
- Hapchance can be a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce hapchance?
- Hapchance is pronounced /ˈhapˌtʃɑːns/ (UK).
- What is the plural of hapchance?
- The plural of hapchance is hapchances.
Words near hapchance in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hapchance (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “hapchance.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hapchance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.