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 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 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 But by a series of flukes, Friedman never once auditioned for the CSO. Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flukes
Noun
  • The fantasy and sci-fi elements prove somewhat trickier for Meyer to navigate, but that mainly leads to happy accidents.
    Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The Army had the second-most accidents that year, though the Marines’ rate was nearly double that of the Army, Air Force and Navy.
    Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Its volatile stock closely tracks investors’ perceived chances of cashing in on the GLP-1 boom.
    Joseph Wilkins,Lee Ying Shan,Yun Li, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The running text would distract from interviews of newsmakers, for example, but executives do see more chances to use it.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • That’s the magic of Yatzy, a simple game that’s equal parts luck and strategy and easy enough for anyone to join in.
    Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The Real Time audience took that one in stride, giving it a good laugh and applause, but then Maher pushed his luck.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 8 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Flukes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flukes. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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