accident

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ac·ci·dent

(ăk′sĭ-dənt, -dĕnt′)

a. An unexpected and undesirable event, especially one resulting in damage or harm: an accident on the assembly line; car accidents on icy roads.

b. An unforeseen event that is not the result of intention or has no apparent cause: A series of happy accidents led to his promotion.

c. An instance of involuntary urination or defecation.

2. Lack of intention; chance: ran into an old friend by accident.

3. Philosophy An attribute of a substance that is not essential to its nature.

[Middle English, chance event, from Old French, from Latin accidēns, accident-, present participle of accidere, to happen : ad-, ad- + cadere, to fall; see kad- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

accident

(ˈæksɪdənt)

1. an unforeseen event or one without an apparent cause

2. anything that occurs unintentionally or by chance; chance; fortune: I met him by accident.

3. a misfortune or mishap, esp one causing injury or death

4. (Logic) logic philosophy Also called: adjunct a nonessential attribute or characteristic of something (as opposed to substance)

5. (Philosophy) metaphysics a property as contrasted with the substance in which it inheres

6. (Geological Science) geology a surface irregularity in a natural formation, esp in a rock formation or a river system

[C14: via Old French from Latin accident- chance, happening, from the present participle of accidere to befall, happen, from ad- to + cadere to fall]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ac•ci•dent

(ˈæk sɪ dənt)

n.

1. an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usu. results in injury, damage, or loss.

2. an incident that results in injury, in no way the fault of the victim, for which compensation or indemnity is legally sought.

3. any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause.

4. chance; fortune; luck: I was there by accident.

5. a nonessential or incidental feature or circumstance.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin accident-, s. of accidēns chance event, contingent entity, orig. present participle of accidere to happen =ac- ac- + -cidere, comb. form of cadere to fall]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	accident - an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury collision - an accident resulting from violent impact of a moving object; "three passengers were killed in the collision"; "the collision of the two ships resulted in a serious oil spill" crash, wreck - a serious accident (usually involving one or more vehicles); "they are still investigating the crash of the TWA plane" accidental injury, injury - an accident that results in physical damage or hurt misadventure, mischance, mishap - an instance of misfortune wreck, shipwreck - an accident that destroys a ship at sea fatal accident, casualty - an accident that causes someone to die
	2.	accident - anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause; "winning the lottery was a happy accident"; "the pregnancy was a stroke of bad luck"; "it was due to an accident or fortuity" chance event, fortuity, stroke happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent - an event that happens hap - an accidental happening; "he recorded all the little haps and mishaps of his life" happy chance, break, good luck - an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big break" coincidence, happenstance - an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental lottery - something that is regarded as a chance event; "the election was just a lottery to them"

accident

noun

1. crash, smash, wreck, collision, pile-up (informal), smash-up (informal) She was involved in a serious car accident last week.

2. misfortune, blow, disaster, tragedy, setback, calamity, mishap, misadventure, mischance, stroke of bad luck 5,000 people die every year because of accidents in the home.

3. chance, fortune, luck, fate, hazard, coincidence, fluke, fortuity She discovered the problem by accident.

Quotations
"now and then there is a person born"
"who is so unlucky that he runs into accidents"
"which started out to happen to somebody else" [Don Marquis archys life of mehitabel]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

accident

noun

1. An unexpected and usually undesirable event:

casualty, contretemps, misadventure, mischance, misfortune, mishap.

2. An unexpected random event:

chance, fluke, fortuity, hap, happenchance, happenstance, hazard.

Translations

حَادِثحادِثَةصُدْفَهمُصَادَقَة

nehodanáhoda

uheldulykketilfældetilfældighed

Unfall Zufall versehentlich Autounfall

ατύχημα δυστύχημα

accidente casualidad

onnettomuussattumatapaturmavahinko

accident hasard par hasard

nezgodaslučajno

baleset

slystilviljun

incidente accidente caso infortunio

事故思いがけず

사고우연

atsitiktinaiatsitiktinisatsitiktinumasavarijanelaimingas atsitikimas

gadījumsnejaušībanelaimes gadījums

ongeluk ongeval toevallig

ulykke feil tilfeldighet tilfelle uhell

wypadek

acidente

несчастный случай случай случайно случайность столкновение

nezgodapo naključju

olyckaråka

โดยบังเอิญอุบัติเหตุ

kaza kazayla tesadüf

tai nạnvô tình

事故偶然意外意外事件

accident

[ˈæksɪdənt]

A. N

1. (= mishap) → accidente m
to meet with or have an accident → tener or sufrir un accidente
it's an accident waiting to happen → es un peligro en potencia
accidents will happen → son cosas que pasan
see also road B

2. (= unforeseen event) → casualidad f
by accident (= by chance) → por or de casualidad; (= unintentionally) → sin querer, involuntariamente
by some accident I found myself there → me encontré allí por accidente
more by accident than design → más por casualidad que por intención
I'm sorry, it was an accident → lo siento, lo hice sin querer
it's no accident that → no es casualidad or casual que ...

3. (Geol, Philos) → accidente m

B. CPD Accident and Emergency Department N (in hospital) → Urgencias fpl
(road) accident figures NPL → cifras fpl de accidentes (en carretera)
accident insurance N → seguro m contra accidentes
accident prevention N → prevención f de accidentes
(road) accident statistics NPL → estadísticas fpl de accidentes (en carretera)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

accident

[ˈæksɪdənt] n

(= mishap) → accident m
accidents at work → accidents du travail
to have an accident → avoir un accident
by accident (not deliberately) → accidentellement
The burglar killed him by accident → Le cambrioleur l'a tué accidentellement.
an accident waiting to happen [person, thing] → une bombe à retardement

(= chance) → hasard m
by accident (= by chance)
She met him by accident → Elle l'a rencontré par hasard.
it's no accident that ... → ce n'est pas un hasard si ...

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

accident

n (Mot, in home, at work) → Unfall m; (Rail, Aviat: = disaster) → Unglück nt; (= mishap) → Missgeschick nt; (= chance occurrence) → Zufall m; (inf: = unplanned child) → (Verkehrs)unfall m (inf); accident and emergency department/unit → Notfallstation f, → Notaufnahme f; she has had an accident → sie hat einen Unfall gehabt or (caused it) → gebaut (inf); (in car, train etc also) → sie ist verunglückt; (in kitchen etc) → ihr ist etwas or ein Missgeschick or ein Malheur passiert; little Jimmy has had an accident (euph) → dem kleinen Jimmy ist ein Malheur passiert (inf); that was an accident waiting to happen → das musste ja so kommen; by accident (= by chance) → durch Zufall, zufällig; (= unintentionally) → aus Versehen; without accident (of driver, car) → unfallfrei; who by an accident of birth possessed riches → der zufälligerweise reich geboren wurde; accidents will happen (prov) → so was kann vorkommen, so was kommt in den besten Familien vor (inf); it was an accident → es war ein Versehen; it was pure accident that … → es war reiner Zufall, dass …; it’s no accident that … → es ist kein Zufall, dass …; (not surprisingly) → es kommt nicht von ungefähr, dass …

accident

accident insurance

n → Unfallversicherung f

accident prevention

n → Unfallverhütung f

accident-prone

adj → vom Pech verfolgt; she is very accident → sie ist vom Pech verfolgt, sie ist ein richtiger Pechvogel; (more serious) → ihr passieren ständig Unfälle

accident report

n → Unfallbericht m

accident risk

n → Unfallrisiko nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

accident

[ˈæksɪd/ənt] n (harmful) → incidente m, disgrazia; (unexpected) → (puro) caso
road accident → incidente stradale
to meet with or to have an accident → avere un incidente
accidents at work → infortuni mpl sul lavoro
by accident (by chance) → per caso (unintentionally) → senza volere, per sbaglio
accidents will happen → sono cose che capitano or succedono

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

accident

(ˈӕksidənt) noun

1. an unexpected happening, often harmful, causing injury etc. There has been a road accident.

2. chance. I met her by accident.

ˌacciˈdental (-ˈden-) adjective

happening by chance or accident. an accidental discovery.

ˌacciˈdentally (-ˈden-) adverb

accident

→ حادِثَة, مُصَادَقَة náhoda, nehoda uheld Unfall, versehentlich ατύχημα accidente onnettomuus, vahinko accident, par hasard nezgoda, slučajno incidente 事故, 思いがけず 사고, 우연 ongeluk feil, ulykke wypadek acidente несчастный случай, случайно olycka, råka โดยบังเอิญ, อุบัติเหตุ kaza, kazayla tai nạn, vô tình 事故, 意外

ac·ci·dent

n. accidente;

by ___ → por casualidad, sin querer;

car ___ → ___ automovilístico;

occupational ___ → ___ del trabajo, ocupacional;

traffic ___ → ___ de tráfico.

Accident

accident

n accidente m; by — sin querer; cerebrovascular — accidente cerebrovascular; traffic o motor vehicle — accidente de tránsito or tráfico, choque m (fam); work-related — accidente de trabajo

References in classic literature ?

A natural accident, such as will happen now and then!"

View in context

I had often wondered how it was that Sir Oliver had such a very short tail; it really was only six or seven inches long, with a tassel of hair hanging from it; and on one of our holidays in the orchard I ventured to ask him by what accident it was that he had lost his tail.

View in context

"Some fatal accident has happened to her on those rocks."

View in context

With the exception of the terrible details, Jackson's story of his accident was the same as that I had already heard.

View in context

The night passed without accident, but in such profound obscurity, that it was necessary to use redoubled vigilance.

View in context

The accident fell out in Appin -- mind ye that, Alan; it's Appin that must pay; and I am a man that has a family."

View in context

So, thanks to his care, his intelligence, his useful intervention in all difficulties, his prodigious and humane sagacity, the average of accidents did not exceed that of transatlantic countries, noted for their excessive precautions-- France, for instance, among others, where they reckon about one accident for every two hundred thousand francs of work.

View in context

I feared an accident now, for I knew no thief could steal him, yet even an accident seemed incredible, he was always so cautious at crossings; also there could not possibly have been an accident to Porthos without there being an accident to something else.

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There was an accident and I received this blow to my head - only a trifling affair, after all.

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Pollyanna was a little late for supper on the night of the accident to John Pendleton; but, as it happened, she escaped without reproof.

View in context

"My own opinion of the matter is, briefly, as follows: I don't think she has met with any serious accident. Serious accidents, in nine cases out of ten, discover themselves.

View in context

If the wind held good, the distance might be traversed in five hours; if no accident happened the sledge might reach Omaha by one o'clock.