fluky

adjective

\ˈflü-kē

\

variants: or less commonly flukey

flukier; flukiest

Definition of fluky

1 : happening by or depending on chance

2 : being unsteady or uncertain —used especially of wind

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about fluky

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Examples of fluky in a Sentence

a fluky coincidence that kept me safely at home when the blizzard hit the fluky selection of consecutive numbers on consecutive days of the lottery

Recent Examples on the Web

With due to respect to a hot Reds team, the Cubs losing four straight games at Great American Ball Park felt a little fluky; two grand slams, two home runs by pitchers, assorted injuries to Kris Bryant and the bullpen. — David Haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Cubs' rough weekend in Cincinnati should be viewed as a blip, not a red flag," 25 June 2018 There’s still room for hot starts to go cold and slumps to turn into streaks, but with seven weeks’ worth of action in the books, numbers are beginning to normalize, and aberrant production—or a lack thereof—no longer feels fluky. — Si.com Staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: Keys to a Dodgers Turnaround, Fixing Ohtani's Workload and MLB's Underappreciated Players," 20 May 2018 The message O’Connor sent with the benchings on Saturday night was, in essence, telling the players to stop deluding themselves into thinking the nine-match losing streak was some fluky happenstance of bad breaks, bad officiating and bad coaching. — Mike Bianchi, Pro Soccer USA, "James O’Connor is finally forcing Orlando City’s players to look in the mirror," 14 July 2018 Against Vegas, this involved stomaching a fluky Game 1 loss in which Ovechkin had an assist but only managed two shots on goal. — Alex Prewitt, SI.com, "The Great Wait Is Finally Over: After 13 Seasons, Alex Ovechkin Is a Stanley Cup Champion," 11 June 2018 As a result, lucky saves and fluky errors can be the deciding factor in many hockey games. — New York Times, "Why N.H.L. Teams May Not Enjoy the Comforts of Home Ice," 6 June 2018 There always has been a rather simple explanation for that trend: Unless the Derby produces some kind of fluky result, the fastest horse on the first Saturday in May is likely to remain the fastest horse two weeks later. — Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, "Why it's impossible to pick against Derby winner Justify in the Preakness," 16 May 2018 Those are the kinds of fluky occurrences that have made no-hitters so exciting and rare: There is inherently an element of luck involved. — Jared Diamond, WSJ, "Why It Won’t Be Long Until the Next No-Hitter," 9 May 2018 That sure seems fluky and might indicate the Cowboys defense is better than appearances. — Jesse Newell, kansascity, "Quick scout: Why it's hard to figure out Oklahoma State's defense | The Kansas City Star," 2 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fluky.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

28 Sep 2018

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Time Traveler for fluky

The first known use of fluky was in 1867

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