leave to chance
Not plan ahead
To leave something to chance is to let it happen without trying to control or plan the outcome: We can't leave the election results to chance.
The phrase often appears in the negative—nothing left to chance—emphasizing thorough preparation.
What's left to chance depends on luck or random events rather than deliberate action.
- gambleStake on uncertain outcome
- hazardSource of potential harm
- entrustCommit to another's care
- riskPossibility of harm
- throw cautionAbandon careful consideration
take a flyer · random · luck · uncertainty · providence · wing it · play it by ear · fly blind · fatalism · defer · contingency · accident · delegate · fortune · abdicate · serendipity · surrender · acceptance
- negligence expressionsdrop the ball, asleep at the wheel, let slide, slack off, caught napping