1
as in to encounter
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
chanced upon my archenemy as I rounded a corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
I chanced upon your mother in the grocery store yesterday
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chance (upon)
Verb
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Each has plays — like a slow-roller up the third base line that requires a quick throw across the diamond — that no other position will encounter.
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The first time former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice encountered Kevin Warsh was in the 1980s.
Verb
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Gas stations across Russia are imposing limits on purchases, CNN’s analysis found, with fuel- tracking websites popping up to guide drivers to the best spots to fill up.
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The incident happened less than a week after another child was found dead inside a car at a Plantation early learning center last Monday.
Verb
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The pair met in English class on the first day of their freshman year.
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The platform is scalable and can be deployed to meet the power demands of AI data centers and even support the grid.
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Cite this Entry
“Chance (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chance%20%28upon%29. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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