chance on
Find by accident
To chance on something is to encounter it unexpectedly, without looking for it: I chanced on an old photograph while cleaning the attic.
The phrase suggests happy accident rather than deliberate discovery.
Also appears as chance upon.
- bump intoMeet without planning
- come acrossFind accidentally
- cross pathsMeet by coincidence
- stumble uponFind unexpectedly
- stumble acrossFind unexpectedly, unintentionally
come upon · meet · random encounter · discover · encounter · happen on · find · hit upon · fortuitous · fall upon · run across · see · surprise · light upon · detect · fluke · pure luck · locate
intentionality of discovery
chance onseek out
Try to find intentionally
look for · hunt for · track down · pursue · target
effort and seeking
chance onresearch
Systematic fact-finding effort
investigate · ferret out · comb through · root out · dig up
chance, chances, chancy, chanced, chancing, chanciest, chancier, chance upon, chancers