chance upon
Find by accident
To chance upon something is to encounter it by accident rather than by design: I chanced upon an old photograph while cleaning the attic.
The phrase emphasizes the role of luck or coincidence in the discovery.
Chance on means the same thing.
- come acrossFind accidentally
- findLocate through effort
- encounterUnexpected meeting or confrontation
- discoverFind something unknown
- happy accidentUnintended but beneficial event
stumble across · bump into · serendipity · cross paths · synchronicity · run across · luck · blind luck · coincidence · meet · twist of fate · fate · lucky find · lost · strike · random · wander · by accident