flukes

plural of fluke
as in accidents
an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events the discovery of oil on their property was just an amazing fluke

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flukes Was 2025 the fluke of flukes or a harbinger of something worse to come for Andy Reid and friends? Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2026 Their odds of winning the World Series – a famously finicky task prone to small sample size flukes – were over 25%, one-in-four for one of baseball’s 30 teams. Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026 Guests at Brookfield Zoo can identify her in Dolphin Bay by her distinctive features, including a freckle on her tongue, pink coloration on her ventral side, and smaller flukes and dorsal fins in relation to her body size. Adam Harrington, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026 These moments are not flukes either. Mark Carey, New York Times, 26 June 2026 Whale song, the splashing of flippers, the flashing of flukes. Julie Orringer, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2026 That kind of overlap across two major rankings signals these aren’t flukes. Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 20 Apr. 2026 From a human perspective, whales are born backwards, emerging flukes first. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2026 Who knew if these roles were flukes — one-offs, novelties — or if Jerry Adler would defy the odds stacked up against any actor, much less a sexagenarian new to the game, and continue to find work in his newfound profession. Howard Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flukes
Noun
  • From severe weather and accidents to cyberattacks and tragedies, unfortunately, schools and colleges face crises each year.
    Kimberly Osborne, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Conflicts and tragedies are almost always the result of carelessness or accidents that spiral totally out of control.
    Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Manchester City’s back-to-the-walls defensive display in their 1-0 victory in the Manchester derby on Sunday presented the former, while Manchester United’s inability to create chances against 10 men embodied the latter.
    Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Because there is a correlation between the price of Brent crude futures and Polymarket’s rating of the Democratic Party’s chances, according to Deutsche Bank.
    Jim Edwards, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The prospects who are performing well enough to expect a September call-up in a normal season, like Parks Harber, might be out of luck.
    Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The big one, of course, is that NASCAR created a new playoff format meant to erase luck.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Flukes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flukes. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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