accident

accident — noun

1. an unwanted event, often involving cars, machines, or falls, where someone gets

1.名詞A2
釋義

an unwanted event, often involving cars, machines, or falls, where someone gets hurt or something gets broken.

例句

Diego had a serious car accident on the highway last Friday.

have + accident; in/on + location

Three workers were injured in an accident at the factory yesterday.

passive: be injured in an accident

同義詞
  • crash

    specifically a vehicle collision; more dramatic

  • mishap

    smaller accident with minor consequences; more formal

  • disaster

    much larger in scale, often affecting many people

文法句型

have an accident

in an accident

用法筆記

Frequently appears with verbs 'have', 'cause', 'witness' and the prepositions 'in' or 'on'. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense always involves harm or damage, while sense 2 is neutral about consequences.

常見錯誤

❌I made an accident yesterday.
✅I had an accident yesterday.
💡use 'have' (or 'cause'), not 'make', with this noun.
❌She was killed by a car accident.
✅She was killed in a car accident.
💡use the preposition 'in', not 'by'.

2. something that nobody planned, which happens just by luck or chance rather than

2.名詞B1
釋義

something that nobody planned, which happens just by luck or chance rather than on purpose.

例句

Yusuf found his old diary by accident while cleaning the attic.

by accident = unintentionally

Meeting my future husband at the bus stop was a happy accident.

a happy accident: positive chance event

同義詞
  • chance

    more abstract; often used as 'by chance'

  • coincidence

    stresses that two events happened together unexpectedly

  • fluke

    informal; suggests a lucky and surprising one-off

反義詞
  • design

    as in 'by design' — the deliberate opposite of 'by accident'

  • intention

    stresses the planning behind an action

文法句型

by accident

it is an accident that...

用法筆記

Most often appears in the fixed phrase 'by accident' (the opposite of 'on purpose'). Distinguish from sense 1: nothing harmful needs to happen here — the focus is on lack of plan, not on damage.

常見錯誤

❌I met him on accident.
✅I met him by accident.
💡the standard preposition is 'by', though 'on accident' is heard in casual American speech.
❌I found this book accident.
✅I found this book by accident.
💡never drop the preposition 'by'.