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# coincidence

«coincidence» in Mova's school dictionary: **When two things happen at the same time or in a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a coincidence, coincidences; coincidence, uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) When two things happen at the same time or in a surprising way by chance, without being planned (What a coincidence!). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#m1)

2) (maths, formal) The fact of two things being in the same place or the same. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and stories: meeting a friend far from home is a coincidence. In maths and science: a pattern can be a coincidence, not proof; you need many tests. Phrases: by coincidence, pure coincidence, it's no coincidence that.

### examples

- What a coincidence — we have the same birthday! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#x1)
- By coincidence, we were on the same train. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#x2)
- It was pure coincidence that we wore the same shirt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#x3)
- It's no coincidence that he's tired; he stayed up late. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#x4)
- A pattern in three numbers might be a coincidence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#x5)
- Scientists test many times to rule out coincidence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coincidence/#x6)

### note

Spelling: co-in-ci-dence. Adjective: coincidental. Trap: a surprising coincidence is not magic or a sign; with many people and events, coincidences are common (the birthday problem: in a group of 23, two sharing a birthday is more likely than not).

### In the corpora

- [Barter only works when each person has what the other wants; this is called a double coincidence of wants.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/money/4-swaps-and-barter-in-the-playground/5/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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