coincide

verb

co·​in·​cide ˌkō-ən-ˈsīd  ˈkō-ən-ˌsīd 

coincided; coinciding

intransitive verb

1

a

: to occupy the same place in space or time

The base of the triangle coincides with one side of the square.

The heroic age of bridge construction coincided with the expansion of the railroads …

—Mario Salvadori

b

: to occupy exactly corresponding or equivalent positions on a scale or in a series

100° Celsius coincides with 212° Fahrenheit.

2

: to correspond in nature, character, or function

" … our sentiments coincided in every particular … "

—Jane Austen

3

: to be in accord or agreement : concur

She coincided with his views on most subjects.

Synonyms

• accompany
• happen

Choose the Right Synonym for coincide

agree, concur, coincide mean to come into or be in harmony regarding a matter of opinion.

agree implies complete accord usually attained by discussion and adjustment of differences.

on some points we all can agree

concur often implies approval of someone else's statement or decision.

if my wife concurs, it's a deal

coincide, used more often of opinions, judgments, wishes, or interests than of people, implies total agreement.

their wishes coincide exactly with my desire

Examples of coincide in a Sentence

The goals of the business partners coincide.

the heaviest snowfall of the season coincided with the start of our weeklong ski vacation

Recent Examples on the Web

To coincide with the exhibition, Serpentine will publish a catalog of Kanwar’s previously unpublished writing. —Zac Ntim, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2025

Longoria’s power dressing moment at the Neiman Marcus 2025 fantasy gifts event coincides with several high-profile figures opting for a similar aesthetic with seasonal twists. —Julia Teti, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2025

When Rani Johnson joined Workday as chief information officer in March 2023, her appointment happened to coincide with some monumental generative artificial intelligence milestones, including the debut of Anthropic’s Claude and the rollout of OpenAI’s GPT-4. —John Kell, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025

The event coincided with Alibaba’s own Singles Day launch in Shanghai, where the company showed off new AI tools to entice shoppers more effectively and reduce costs for sellers. —Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin coincidere "to be identical in substance, agree in position," from Latin co- co- + incidere "to fall or drop (into), come by chance, chance to happen" — more at incident entry 1

First Known Use

1719, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for coincide

• actinide
• aldehyde
• alkoxide
• alongside
• amplified
• arsenide
• beautified
• biocide
• butoxide
• calcified
• ceramide
• certified

Kids Definition

coincide

verb

co·​in·​cide ˌkō-ən-ˈsīd 

coincided; coinciding

1

: to occupy the same place in space or time

2

: to occupy the same positions on a scale

3

: to agree exactly