luck

luck¹ W3S2 [lʌk] n [U]

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1¦(success)¦

2 bad luck

3¦(chance)¦

4 with (any) luck/with a bit of luck

5 wish somebody (the best of) luck

6 good luck/best of luck

7 good luck to somebody

8 any luck?/no luck?

9 be in luck

10 be out of luck

11 do something for luck

12 just my luck

13 no such luck

14 better luck next time

15 as luck would have it

16 try/chance your luck

17 be down on your luck

18 the luck of the draw

19 some people have all the luck

20 bad/hard/tough luck

21 with/knowing somebody's luck

22 worse luck

23 luck is on somebody's side

24 (one) for luck

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[Date: 1400-1500; : Middle Dutch; Origin: luk]

1.) ¦(SUCCESS)¦ also good luck

good things that happen to you by chance

▪ You're not having much luck today, are you?

▪ Owen has had no luck with job-hunting.

▪ He's had good luck with his roses this year.

▪ We had the luck to find good childcare quite quickly.

▪ I couldn't believe my luck when he showed an interest in me.

▪ It was sheer luck that we were saved from drowning.

▪ It was an incredible piece of luck .

▪ By a stroke of luck , she had spotted the book on a colleague's bookshelf.

▪ Often there is an element of luck in getting the right answer.

▪ It was just dumb luck that no one got hurt.

see usage note ↑chance¹

2.) bad luck

the bad things that happen to someone by chance, not because of something they did

▪ Bad luck seems to follow me everywhere.

▪ I've had nothing but bad luck since I moved to this town.

▪ Lend me some money; I've had a run of bad luck (=a series of bad things happened) on the horses recently,

3.) ¦(CHANCE)¦

when good or bad things happen to people by chance

▪ You never know who you'll get as a roommate; it's just a matter of luck .

▪ Roulette is a game of luck.

see usage note ↑chance¹

4.) with (any) luck/with a bit of luck

spoken if things happen in the way that you want

= ↑hopefully

▪ With a bit of luck, you might get a flight tomorrow.

5.) wish sb (the best of) luck

to tell someone that you hope they will be successful in something they are going to do

▪ She wished me luck in the exam, then left.

6.) good luck/best of luck

spoken used to tell someone that you hope they will be successful in something they are going to do

▪ Good luck in this enormous project you are undertaking.

7.) good luck to sb

spoken used to say that you do not mind what someone does, because it does not affect you

▪ I say, good luck to him.

8.) any luck?/no luck?

spoken used to ask someone if they have succeeded in doing something

▪ 'Oh, there you are. Any luck?' 'No, I didn't catch a single fish.'

9.) be in luck

to be able to do or get something, especially when you did not expect to

▪ You're in luck - it's stopped snowing.

10.) be out of luck

to be prevented from getting or doing something by bad luck

▪ The team were out of luck again at Scarborough on Saturday.

11.) do sth for luck

to do something because you think it might bring you good luck

▪ She crossed her fingers for luck.

12.) just my luck

spoken used to say that you are not surprised something bad has happened to you, because you are usually unlucky

▪ I didn't get to the phone in time. Just my luck!

13.) no such luck

spoken used to say you are disappointed, because something good that you hoped would happen did not happen

▪ 'Have you Sunday off?' 'No such luck.'

14.) better luck next time

used to say that you hope someone will be more successful the next time they try to do something

15.) as luck would have it

used to say that something happened by chance

▪ As luck would have it, my best friend is the most wonderful cook in the world.

16.) try/chance your luck

to do something because you hope you will be successful, even though you know you may not be

▪ After the war my father went to Canada to try his luck at farming there.

17.) be down on your luck

to have no money because you have had a lot of bad luck over a long period of time

▪ When someone is down on their luck, friends are very difficult to find.

18.) the luck of the draw

the result of chance rather than something you can control

19.) some people have all the luck

spoken used to say that you wish you had what someone else has

20.) bad/hard/tough luck

spoken especially BrE used to express sympathy when something unpleasant has happened to someone

→tough luck at ↑tough¹ (7)

21.) with/knowing sb's luck

spoken used to say that you expect something bad to happen to someone because bad things often do happen to them

▪ With my luck, I'd lose if I backed the only horse in a one horse race.

22.) worse luck

BrE spoken unfortunately

▪ 'Would your boyfriend like a drink?' 'He's not my boyfriend, worse luck!'

23.) luck is on sb's side

if luck is on someone's side, things go well for them

▪ Luck was on my side; all the traffic lights were green.

24.) (one) for luck

spoken used when you take, add, or do something for no particular reason, or in order to say that you hope good things happen

→↑hard-luck story

→push your luck at ↑push¹ (12)

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

not have much/any luck

have no luck

have good luck

have more/better luck

have the luck to do something

can't believe your luck

sheer luck (=used to emphasize something happened only by luck)

a piece of luck

a stroke of luck (=very good luck)

an element of luck (=used to say that luck is involved in something)

dumb luck American English (=good luck that happens by chance, without you planning it at all)

WORD CHOICE: luck, lucky

!! Do not say that someone 'has luck'. Say they are lucky : I was lucky (NOT I had luck) and got to the airport just in time. | You're so lucky to live by the sea.

You can use 'have' with luck only when luck has something before it such as 'bad', 'good', 'much', 'any' 'a bit of' etc : He's had a lot of bad luck recently. | Did you have any luck finding your bag? | If we have a bit of luck, we'll see her before she leaves.

GRAMMAR

!! luck is an uncountable noun : Winning was mostly a matter of luck .

Do not say 'a luck'. To talk about one lucky event you can say a piece of luck , a bit of luck , or a stroke of luck : Seeing him at that moment was an amazing piece of luck (NOT an amazing luck).

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luck ²

luck² v

luck out phr v

AmE informal to be lucky

▪ Yeah, we really lucked out and got a parking space right in front.