coincidence

«coincidence» in Mova's school dictionary: When two things happen at the same time or in a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a coincidence, coincidences; coincidence, uncountable)

meaning for a pupil

1) When two things happen at the same time or in a surprising way by chance, without being planned (What a coincidence!). tree →

2) (maths, formal) The fact of two things being in the same place or the same. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life and stories: meeting a friend far from home is a coincidence. In maths and science: a pattern can be a coincidence, not proof; you need many tests. Phrases: by coincidence, pure coincidence, it's no coincidence that.

examples

• What a coincidence — we have the same birthday! tree →
• By coincidence, we were on the same train. tree →
• It was pure coincidence that we wore the same shirt. tree →
• It's no coincidence that he's tired; he stayed up late. tree →
• A pattern in three numbers might be a coincidence. tree →
• Scientists test many times to rule out coincidence. tree →

note

Spelling: co-in-ci-dence. Adjective: coincidental. Trap: a surprising coincidence is not magic or a sign; with many people and events, coincidences are common (the birthday problem: in a group of 23, two sharing a birthday is more likely than not).

In the corpora

• Barter only works when each person has what the other wants; this is called a double coincidence of wants.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «coincidence» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.