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# accident

«accident» in Mova's school dictionary: **something bad that happens by chance, often causing harm…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (an accident, accidents)

### meaning for a pupil

1) An accident is something bad that happens by chance, often causing harm or damage, like a car crash or a fall. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#m1)

2) An accident is anything that happens without anyone planning it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#m2)

3) «By accident» means not on purpose. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In safety lessons, most accidents at home happen from falls, burns, cuts and poisoning, and many can be prevented; in an accident, stay calm, get an adult and call the emergency number if someone is badly hurt. In everyday life and friendship, saying «it was an accident» and «sorry» matters; an accident is not the same as doing something on purpose. Phrases: by accident, car accident, have an accident, accident-prone, a happy accident.

### examples

- There was an accident on the motorway. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x1)
- I broke the cup by accident. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x2)
- Sorry, it was an accident! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x3)
- Most accidents happen at home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x4)
- He had a bike accident and hurt his arm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x5)
- Tell an adult straight away if there is an accident. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x6)
- Penicillin was discovered by a happy accident. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x7)
- Little children sometimes have toilet accidents. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x8)
- I know how easily accidents happen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/#x9)

### note

Countable: an accident (use «an», because it starts with a vowel sound). «By accident» = «accidentally» = not on purpose; opposite: «on purpose» or «deliberately». Spelled with cc: ac-ci-dent.

### In the corpora

- [Speed limits exist because faster cars cause worse accidents, especially near schools and homes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/30-police-courts-and-prison/16/)
- [The news on TV, the radio and phones shows real things: wars, earthquakes, floods, fires and accidents.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/51-scary-news-wars-disasters-and-how-to-talk-about-them/0/)
- [Twists on reality shows are usually planned by producers to keep people watching, not lucky accidents.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/54-reality-tv-what-is-staged-and-what-is-real/17/)
- [Seeing part of an 18 film by accident is common and is not the child's fault.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/58-landing-on-an-18-film-by-accident/8/)
- [Good parents make clear that an accident is not the child's fault.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/59-the-parents-walk-in-how-good-parents-react/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «accident» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/accident/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.