luck

luck — noun

1. an invisible power that brings good events into your life by accident, not becau

1.名詞A2
釋義

an invisible power that brings good events into your life by accident, not because you planned or worked for them.

例句

Kofi found a hundred dollars on the street — what incredible luck!

collocation: incredible / pure / amazing luck

Eliska touched the wooden table for good luck before she went on stage.

common phrase: for good luck (ritual/gesture)

同義詞
  • fortune

    more formal; 'fortune' can also mean wealth, while 'luck' cannot

  • serendipity

    formal; describes happy accidents, especially discoveries

  • providence

    formal or religious; implies a guiding divine force, not blind chance

反義詞
  • misfortune

    formal term for bad luck or an unlucky event

文法句型

have + luck

wish (someone) + luck

a stroke of + luck

用法筆記

Uncountable noun — never 'a luck' or 'lucks'. Common with adjectives such as good, bad, pure, incredible, amazing. The phrase 'good luck' can be an exclamation (wishing someone success) or a noun phrase ('She has good luck with everything').

常見錯誤

❌I hope you have a good luck today.
✅I hope you have good luck today.
💡luck is uncountable, so no article 'a'.
❌His lucks ran out after the accident.
✅His luck ran out after the accident.
💡luck has no plural form.

2. the situation of getting the result you wanted, when that result depends mainly

2.名詞B1
釋義

the situation of getting the result you wanted, when that result depends mainly on chance rather than skill.

例句

Manuela had no luck finding a rental apartment in her price range.

negative pattern: have no luck + -ing

Henry tried three different shops but had no luck with the book.

negative pattern: have no luck with [noun]

同義詞
  • success

    broader — success can come from effort; 'luck' always implies chance played a part

文法句型

have + (no / any / some) + luck + with + noun

have + (no / any / some) + luck + -ing

用法筆記

In this sense, 'luck' is used informally to ask about or describe the outcome of an effort. Questions like 'Any luck?' and answers like 'No luck so far' are very common in everyday speech. The focus is on the result, not the abstract force.

常見錯誤

❌I asked him if he had lucky finding the keys.
✅I asked him if he had luck finding the keys.
💡use 'luck' (noun), not 'lucky' (adjective).
❌She had luck yesterday but unluck today.
✅She had luck yesterday but no luck today.
💡for the noun sense, use 'no luck' as the opposite, not 'unluck'.

3. the unpredictable force that decides what happens in people's lives, producing e

3.名詞B2
釋義

the unpredictable force that decides what happens in people's lives, producing either good or bad results that they cannot control through their own actions.

例句

Bao believes that luck plays a big part in every success story.

collocation: luck plays a (big) part / role

By a stroke of luck, the train arrived just as Christopher reached the platform.

fixed phrase: a stroke of luck (sudden fortunate event)

同義詞
  • chance

    more neutral; 'chance' lacks the layer of personal fortune that 'luck' carries

  • fate

    stronger; implies that outcomes are fixed in advance, not random

  • destiny

    stronger and more positive; suggests a planned future, not blind chance

  • fortune

    more formal; similar neutral range from good to bad

文法句型

by + luck

as + luck + would + have + it

a matter of + luck

用法筆記

This sense is more neutral than sense 1 — it can refer to good or bad outcomes. It appears in many fixed expressions such as 'as luck would have it', 'by luck', 'a twist of luck'. Unlike sense 1, it is not limited to positive fortune, and it is often used to talk about how events unfold in a way that people cannot explain.

luck — verb