chance upon

1 to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face chanced upon my archenemy as I rounded a corner Synonyms catch, meet (upon), encounter, happen (upon), stumble (upon)Related Words accost, confront; face, greet, salute; collide (with), crash (into); crisscross, cross, pass; hit (upon), light (upon), tumble (to); reencounter, remeetNear Antonyms avoid, dodge, duck, elude, escape, evade, shake, shun

2 to come upon unexpectedly or by chance I chanced upon your mother in the grocery store yesterday Synonyms happen (upon), encounter, find, hit (upon), light (on or upon), meet, pitch (upon), stumble (on or onto), tumble (upon)Related Words luck (out, on, onto, or into); confront, face; discover, strike, turn up